Second Batik Rug Finished

 For this rug I used 9 yards of fabric. It finished at 26" by 36" but as expected the size shifted after washing and drying. It's now 24" by 37".

I have enough strips cut to make another rug using these exact same fabrics. For that one I can't decide how I want to order the six different fabrics. Should I use all of each fabric so the stripes are wider or should I pick a fabric order and use one strip of each so that the fabric changes every 6 inches or so? I'll think about it for a bit, then make a decision and get busy on the third one.

You can read my previous post about the making of this rug by click here.

And all of the batik fabrics I have in stock in my shop are currently in my clearance section for $9 per yard. If you'd like to make a batik rug similar to mine you can pick up some gorgeous batik fabrics for a great price, while supplies last. You can make whatever you like with them though, not just a rug. Click here to go to the clearance section of my online shop. And in case you are wondering, yes I will still be carrying batik fabrics in my shop but I'm going to start over with all new batiks once I've sold out of what I currently have.

Another Batik Rug

 I liked my first rug so much I decided to make a couple more. For this one I started with 9 yards of fabric cut into 1" by width of fabric strips.

Then I joined all the strips together and rolled it up into a ball. The ball is about 8" in diameter.

Now I'm crocheting it into a rug. I simply chain stitched until the chain is about 2" longer than the finished width of the rug I want and started single crocheting. I'll just continue to single crochet until I run out of fabric strips. It's about halfway done at this point. The first rug I made shrank by 2" in the width so I'm assuming this one will shrink about the same, but we'll see.

As you can see, for this one I opted to used more than one fabric. The more the merrier, right? I picked 6 batik fabrics in the blue/turquoise/teal color range (1 1/2 yards of each). I love how it is turning out. When I was joining the fabric strips together I just grabbed a handful of one color and added all of them, then picked another color and grabbed a handful of those strips and so on. No real plan to the color order or number of strips of each color added at a time.

You might also notice that I got a better crochet hook. The other one wasn't very comfortable in my hand so I looked around and found this one. It's much nicer to use!

Crocheted Rug :: Update and Finished

 My crocheted rug experiment was successful!

This is the entire 8 1/3 yards of fabric I cut up and processed to crochet. It finished at 24" by 30". It's surprisingly cushiony and soft. 

I wanted to see how it would wash up so I washed it and dried it in my machines. It's now even softer, still cushiony and measures 22" by 31". I find it interesting that it shrank in one direction but grew in the other!

I'm already planning my next one, but first I need to order myself a nicer crochet hook. The one I got is fine, but I found it hard on my hand due to it just being a hard piece of plastic. I've found one with a cushioned handle that I think will work better for me.

Crocheted Rug

 I bought a large crochet hook years ago with the idea that I would use it and fabric strips to crochet a rug. You can see it in the photo below at the top right of the photo. Fast forward about 10 years, I found the unopened crochet hook! I decided it was time to give this a try. Instead of using scraps I decided to use a fun batik fabric from my shop. I got two yards, ripped it into 1" strips, made the fabric yarn and started crocheting. Well, two yards doesn't go very far!

Sorry for the foot photo, but I needed something for scale. This is about an 8" by 25" piece of rug. Not nearly big enough! So I bought the rest of this fabric and brought it home. This time I cut it into 1" strips (much less messy than tearing) using my awesome Stripology ruler and got started making it into fabric yarn.

Based on how far 2 yards went, I estimated that I would need 10 yards to make the size rug I wanted. I only had 6 1/3 yards of this fabric left so I'm gonna just see how big I can make this rug with 8 1/3 yards of fabric. This is just going in my bathroom so if I have to use two fabrics to get the size I want that will be just fine.

It took me most of Sunday afternoon to turn the 6 1/3 yards worth of 1" strips into a ball of fabric yarn. I started to crochet with it but ran out of steam. It will get done over the course of the next few evenings of TV watching. It's a fun project and would be a great way to use up scraps. I might have to try that next. I certainly have enough scraps!

Gift Sewing

'Tis the season for gift making. I've been making ornaments and dishrags.

Well, the ornaments were made last weekend. I started on the dishrags in September when I was still working at my LQS as something to do during the brief lulls in the going out of business sale. Initially, there was no time to do anything other than store business. After a couple of weeks there would be little windows of time during the afternoon when I had nothing to do. There is only so much shelf straightening I can handle, so I started bringing my crochet hook and some yarn.

My guild is doing a potholder exchange this year. Below is what I made.

front

back

We were given a pattern to use so everyone's potholder will be the same block, with different fabrics.

A Few More Ornaments

The crochet thread I ordered came in so I have made a few more ornaments.

I'm using size 3 cotton crochet thread with a 2.75mm crochet hook. The center wool circles and yo-yos are about 1.75" in diameter. Again, this is the tutorial I am using for inspiration. I have experimented with the crochet stitches around the edge as well as the centers.

Half Dozen Done

I've made six ornaments so far. I ended up redoing the yo-yo one with the correct size hook (top left in photo below). I like it much better now.

Things I have learned:

1. When using a button in the center, if there are only two holes it is best to place the hanger so that the holes line up vertically. Otherwise, the button tends to pull away at the top.

2. Doing four chains and skipping two double crochet gives a more petal-like look (bottom left with the cream wool center and red button in photo above).

3. I have lots of fun buttons in my stash, but I'm having a hard time using them. LOL! I don't seem to want to use it unless I have a duplicate I can keep for my "collection."

I've ordered a couple more colors of crochet thread for these. I'm going to wait until it comes in before making more. Tutorial information can be found here.

More Ornament Auditions

I believe this is the end of my audition process for 2013. I will be making these.

I used this tutorial as my inspiration. The one on the left is the first one I made. I used a yo-yo for the center, as called for in the tutorial. The crochet hook I used for it was too large, but was the smallest one I owned. I made the one on the right second. The center is two pieces of wool with an awesome button attached. I purchased a smaller crochet hook and am much happier with the end result. It's a keeper!

I think my style is better represented by the one on the right, with the button and the wool center. So, I will continue to use wool rather than making yo-yos, which I don't really enjoy anyway. I plan to use some of my fun buttons and I may even do a little embroidery too. The center circles are only 1.75" so there isn't room for much on them.

I do still really like the first ornament I auditioned, but due to time constraints this year I will be making these. However, I don't have to do any auditioning for 2014 because I will be making the embroidered wreaths. I'm just going to start on them sooner so time won't be an issue and I can enjoy the process.

Crocheted Potholder

My son has a small part in our local college's upcoming production of A Christmas Carol. It has meant numerous evenings of rehearsals each week. I have enjoyed watching the show evolve and have been spending my time crocheting. The theater really isn't bright enough to sew, but I've had no trouble seeing well enough to crochet.

So far I have made a potholder using this tutorial by Deanna at Wedding Dress Blue.

It's just like the one I won, blogged here. I've only been crocheting for about a year. I've made one scarf which turned out terribly, mostly due to a bad choice of yarn, lots of dishcloths, a few Swiffer covers and now a potholder. Since I'm not an experienced crocheter, the construction of this potholder confused me a bit. I couldn't see how this was going to work. But I followed Deanna's excellent instructions and photos and everything worked out exactly like she described.

My confusion was due to lack of experience, not Deanna's instructions. I'm not experienced enough to read the directions and figure everything out before I start. So I just start and do step 1. By the time I'm ready for step 2 it usually makes sense to me. Then I proceed to step 3 and just trust that I'll understand each step when I get there. So far it has always worked out.

I've started another potholder. There are still three more weeks of rehearsals before opening night on December 2nd. I'll probably make a few more potholders at this rate.

Crocheted Floor Duster Cloth

Last week a friend mentioned how she hated using the disposable duster clothes for her floor duster. She had a pattern for a crocheted one, but doesn't know how to crochet and was looking for someone to make her one. I thought this was a great idea since I also dislike the idea (and expense) of purchasing something designed to be used once and thrown away.

When I got home I googled for patterns. There are many. However, I didn't find exactly what I had in mind. And, I'm a beginner crocheter who doesn't completely understand how to read crochet patterns yet. Did I let that stop me? No! I have a dishcloth pattern that I really like (and understand) so I adjusted it to make a floor duster cloth.

Here is my first one.

the bottom of the cloth

top view

how it fits on the duster

But how does it work? Just for you, I tried it out on my hallway and dining room.

It seems to work really well. So there you go, a reversible, reusable crocheted floor duster cloth. I got the yarn on clearance for $0.75 a skein and it took me a couple hours of evening TV time to make. Cleaning isn't my most favorite chore, but I may dust my floors more often now that I have a cool new reusable cloth. Of course, I have microfiber cloths and washcloths I could use that work well, but this is designed to fit and just looks nicer.

Crochet Project

Before we left for our trip I found a Ladder Stitch Crocheted Dishcloth pattern on Ravelry. I think I made something like 7 of these while we were gone!

I even got fancy and changed colors on a few.

The above photo shows the two sides. The ladder stitch is easy to do and looks interesting. I'm planning to give some of these as gifts this Christmas. I found that crochet is better than sewing for me in a moving vehicle because the only sharp instrument it requires is scissors and you don't need to cut often.

The big clean up of the boy's room is almost complete. All that is left is to put some of the toys back in. I'm hoping to be able to purge some toys and only put a few back in his room with the rest going to the playroom. The playroom also needs a makeover, but my sewing room is next. Maybe before school starts back in August we can get the playroom done too.

12 x 12 Mini Quilt Swap

I received my 12 x 12 mini quilt from my partner today! Look how great it is!

Thank you Sherri! I LOVE it! I'm trying to figure out where I will hang it. Right now it is just hanging out on my design wall.

Check out the other goodies Sherri included.

The crocheted items are beautiful! I have recently started using these crocheted cloths for lite cleaning. Sherri's are much nicer than the ones I make. I only know one pattern, the one on the inside of the yarn package. After seeing these and inspecting them up close, I think I need to branch out a bit and try a new pattern.

Thank you again Sherri!

More Crochet

 

I've been doing some more crocheting. The pattern for this dish cloth was on the inside of the wrapper of the yarn. I was casually reading it and realized that it used only the stitches I have learned so far! I was curious to see if I could follow a crochet pattern and I think it turned out fairly well. Talk about a low pressure project. I'm going to use it to clean with so if it didn't turn out well, who cares!

I also crocheted a blanket for Stuart Little, who is now Stuart Weathers. According to Parker, the Little house in New York City blew up and Stuart needed a new home. He has been busy designing and making items for Stuart who has moved onto the shelf above his bed.

Below is Stuart's bed (it's part of a large box of matches and some batting scraps) and some books Parker has created for Stuart to read.

 

 

Crochet!!

At the December guild meeting Parker won some yarn and he wants to learn to knit. I have bad memories of knitting in Home Ec. class in 8th grade so I'm trying to convince him that crochet is better. I think that, for him, learning to use one needle effectively first will make for a more enjoyable learning experience and better success with whatever project we do. But ... before I can teach him, I need to learn myself! I found some great videos on YouTube and learned to do a single crochet stitch. The sample I made turned out pretty large mainly because I was enjoying practicing but also because I didn't know how to stop!* LOL* I'm going to try to learn another stitch tonight.

On the quilting front: I got my baby quilt basted together this morning. I'm not sure how I want to quilt it but I have a tight deadline so it may just have to be an all over large stipple or loops. Nothing very inspired, but done is better than not done. I have also been working on my stitched crop circles. I'll post a photo of it tomorrow.

On the home front: I'm a ski widow again today. My husband filled in for another math faculty member last month so he is cashing in his favor today so he can go skiing. He only teaches one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and today they had an exam. Proctoring exams can be quite boring but it isn't hard so I think the other person is getting off pretty easy. He had to actually teach their class.

There was also a bit of milestone at our house yesterday. Parker walked home from the bus stop by himself for the first time. Here in Alamosa the bus drivers will not allow kindergarteners or first graders to exit the bus unless there is an adult waiting at the bus stop to claim them. Some drivers are stricter than others but Parker's driver for kindergarten and first grade always followed the rule. For second grade through fifth grade, they encourage parents to be at the bus stop, but it is not required. Until last weekend, Parker wanted me to meet the bus. On Sunday, he said that he wanted to walk home by himself. So I agreed. I did stand on the front porch to watch him cross our street but he did a great job. Actually, it couldn't have worked out better. Yesterday it snowed like crazy and was windy from about 3 pm until 3:30 pm. I have stood on the corner in all kinds of weather and am really not sorry at all that I don't have to do that anymore. He still wants me to walk him to the bus stop in the morning, but I don't expect that will last much longer. My baby is not a baby anymore.