Rayen

With all the crochet projects I've been doing this year my scrap yarn ball basket is full to overflowing. I wanted to try a project I could make out of scraps and that I could add to in the future, so I found Jayda in Stitches' Scrapgahn tutorial and decided to give it a whirl Basically you make rows of half double crochet out of two strands of light and dark yarn held together. Simple, right? Other than knotting in more yarn as I used up each scrap ball I wouldn't even have to pay attention to it. Yes, well. When my first attempt started to slant in at the sides I realized I was being a bit too cocky and assuming I knew everything about crochet again. I ripped out two days of work to fix that. Here's the second attempt. This pattern does make a pretty thick blanket, but it's not quite as sturdy as Jayda's three-strand big beautiful basket. I like the stripy effect that comes from knotting in new colors, too. I could keep going and use up...

My fabric and yarn wannabut lot arrived; let's see what I got for my minimum bid. A ton of fabric (I will measure and report on the exact yardage in another post. There are three pieces that are linings that look like silk but are actually polyester; I love those for crazy quilting. There are some sheer curtain pieces, and I also found a brand new flat sheet for a twin bed still in its fabric case. That will work great as quilt backing. Twelve full skeins of yarn, plus nine scrap balls, all in new condition. Only one of the skeins doesn't have a label. The yarn is clean and odor free, too. Definitely worth the $8.99 I paid for the lot.

Since I couldn't find a crochet pattern I liked enough to do for twelve months, I changed my mind on next year's calendar project. I needed slightly less ambitious, too, and that would be a project I looked forward to that would make me happy. I was looking through my photo archives for inspiration and I noticed how many bags I make every year (all of those in the pictures are bags I've made in the past.) I always enjoy making them, they're not difficult and I can manage one per month. Generally I use up a lot of scraps to do the patchwork and I can bead them as much as I like. All that combined to made me decide on making twelve tote bags for 2026. Each will have a calendar month theme that is either personal or holiday-related. For example, since I'm turning 65 next year that month would be all about officially becoming a senior. I'm relieved that I made this decision, so now all I have to do is gather materials for the first bag. Januar...

My vintage DMC floss cabinet just arrived, and it's in great shape. I can't exactly date it, as information on the internet is sparse. The company switched from a bell to the horse head in 1961. Actually the thick plastic drawer fronts and waffled particle board inside suggest the cabinet is a bit newer; maybe circa the late 70's or early 80's. I do know from pics on the internet that in its original condition there would have been dividers in the drawers, too. I can't express to you how much I've longed to find one of these cabinets for my sewing room. I also always assumed that I'd never be able to thrift one at a price I could afford. There's a bit of cracking to the wood case on one side that my guy is going to repair for me, but otherwise the cabinet is in marvelous shape and I couldn't be happier. As to what the cabinet is worth: I've found the same model selling for $48.00 on eBay. Due to the minor damage I'd ...

The jumble lot of yarn I won at the thrift auction before I could write it up in a wannabuts post has arrived; let's see what was in that jumble. It looked even prettier in person. Twenty-one skeins, and all but one had labels. Most were newer craft store yarns, but some of these can be pricey. There are five skeins of brand new Studio Classic by Nicole that Premier has already discontinued. These seem like the Just Yarn worsted they sell at the dollar store, just in larger skeins. The big white and silver skein of Caron Christmas Glitter retails for $14.98, and the Bernat Baby Blanket costs $9.98 new. The yarn is all clean, odorless and only two had been used, so I'm fine assigning a resale price of $5.00 a skein. That works out to $105.00; I paid $12.00 for the lot, or about fifty-eight cents a skein. A nice bargain that I didn't have to shop Black Friday sales for. :) Image credit: the first pic in this post came from the original auction listing a...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Using scrap yarn I made a large multicolor swatch of the skein label pattern I was considering for my 2026 calendar crochet blanket. It's okay, but I'm not crazy about it. Also, I've been rethinking my idea. A king size crochet blanket with any stitch is going to be huge in a few months, and during the summer a very hot project to work on. My guy and I would only be able to use the blanket a couple nights each year, too. I would still like to crochet next year's annual project, but I need to downsize my expectations. So I'm scrapping the king size blanket idea, and searching for something new. We went to walking a mall that day, and stopped in The Mercantile to have a look for some vintage scrap fabric. There wasn't any that I wanted, but I did find two hand-painted bookmarks that were pretty, and two jars of vintage mother of pearl buttons. I used up the last of my white buttons earlier this year so I was very happy to find them. The buttons...

With my leftover Just Yarn from my bargain yarn experiment I decided to swatch the three free patterns I printed out for next year's calendar project. The first was the Twilight Shells pattern, which I really thought was pretty and a strong contender -- until I realized I had to crochet nine double treble stitches to make each shell. Double trebles are what I've nicknamed double trouble, as you start by yarning over three times and then hooking through four sets of two loops. Not only is the stitch attention intensive -- you can't blink or you'll drop a loop -- but because it's so tall it's a monster to keep the proper tension. After the foundation row the whole project is nothing but double treble. I'm not a masochist, so I'll pass on this one. The next pattern I swatched was the Easy Peasy blanket with the straight rows of granny stitches. It does live up to its name -- you just make granny stitches on top of granny stitches -- but I felt...

Since Halloween I've been trying to keep a good attitude about the hellidays holidays, and I think it's helping make the fall season a little better for me. Halloween was really fun this year because I got into it and even had a little party for me and my guy. It's hard to be upset when you're partying. Crocheting is helping, too. I've been so depressed over quilting, and my lack of any real progress in that department this year. On the other hand with my crochet I'm like a throw/hat/scarf factory. My hands have never felt better, and with the cold comes pain and stiffness, so I need as much crochet therapy as possible. All the things I'm making with crochet really help me feel not so useless and crippled. The quilt show really inspired me this year. I found a way to quilt next year's calendar project without taxing myself too much. I still have a wonderful job and remain employed, for which I am eternally grateful, especially now with so ...

This month I really need to decide on what sort of pattern I'm going to use for my 2026 calendar project, which is going to be a crocheted king size blanket in multiple colors. My main requirements for the year is an easy repeating pattern that doesn't work up too heavy, and that I can finish in 12 months. Since one row per day isn't a problem I'll have to swatch out whatever pattern I pick and let that tell me how many rows I need to crochet in a week to get the blanket done in a year. I've been looking at free printable patterns over at Yarnspirations and I really like this ripple pattern . I've never made a ripple stitched project before the granny ripple last month, and it would look nice in multicolored yarn. The problem is maintaining tension, especially on the down jags, but I think wearing one of my yarn tension rings will help with that. Another contender is this Easy Peasy pattern , which is basically straight repeating rows of granny ...

I don't often buy new yarn. A few times this year I have; skeins from Michaels on a bogo sale, some white and variegated yarn I wanted off Amazon, and this dollar store chenille to make a pumpkin costume for my stuffed pup. I prefer to thrift my yarn because frankly it's cheaper and I can get a lot more for my money. Also, I'm not a yarn snob. Any cheaply-priced yarn is fine with me. I did like working with the Premier Just Chenille yarn, which was soft, fluffy and pretty nice quality for $1.25 per skein, so I decided to try a different variety from Dollar Tree. I bought four skeins of the Premier Just Yarn worsted acrylic for $5.00 total. The soft gray is a color I really like (and wear a lot), and the softness of the yarn impressed me. Acrylic yarn is usually a bit stiff. Since I need some new winter hats, I decided to make one with the Just Yarn worsted gray. My first impression was that it works up smoothly and has a sturdy but comfortable hand to i...

I'm back to posting twice a day until I catch up to myself. It's so easy to post ahead! Ha. The reason for this post is that many people I know are stressing about the cost of gift-giving during the holidays. Money is especially tight this year for most folks, and the sticker prices have risen as to be almost out of reach, too. That's why I thought I'd offer ten low-cost ideas that may appeal just as much as the pricey stuff. Books: There is no better gift than a book in my opinion (I'm biased; I write them). If your recipient is not a dedicated reader give them a book of humor, a coffee table book with lots of neat photos, a cook book, or a blank book they can write in. If you can't afford new books, look for them at your local thrift store. Calendar: Every year I give my guy and my favorite person a calendar I make custom-designed with my own photos of them and things we've done together over the past year. I usually get them done with a...

Here are the results of my latest round of wannabuts, or items I want to thrift but only for the price I want to pay. This messy yarn lot will need a lot of TLC, which is why I only wanted it for my minimum bid of $9.00. Alas, I lost it in a brief bidding war to someone willing to pay $12.99 for it. This yarn and fabric lot intrigued me, but only for the right price -- and I won it with no challengers for $8.99! I've always wanted a DMC floss cabinet, but thrift auction buyers fight ferociously over them. New they retail starting at $50.00. This one seemed to be no different -- I was outbid by another buyer -- but I thought I'd try one more bid with the max I was willing to pay for it -- $14.00 -- and unbelievably, I won it. Now I have a thrifted cabinet that is a dream come true. Two out of three wannabuts is a very good round. :)

By the time this post publishes I will have attended the county quilt show (all the things in the pic were what I bought there in 2024.) Last year I had a lovely time at it with my guy and my favorite person, and invested in a few things for myself, but this year I will probably just go to take pics of the quilts and only buy a little fabric for a friend and finished quilted projects made by the guild members (my way of showing support.) I need to stop buying fabric for myself, as my ability to quilt things by hand is almost over, and I already have enough to last me ten lifetimes. It's a little sad, but it's also part of life. I've been hand-quilting for over thirty years with hands that have been partially crippled, and I knew the day would come when my fingers would no longer cooperate. I'm happy I was able to quilt as long as I have. It's tempting to wail over losing my dexterity, too, because honestly it does seem so unfair. Then I think of what my lif...

The 10 oz. jumbo variegated yarn I thrifted from a Goodwill in The Villages turned out to be a lot of fun. I used almost the entire skein to make this scarf, the pattern for which is free online. I found the pattern on the inside of the label for the self-striping yarn I used to make my previous scarf, and thought it would like nice in variegated. No problems with the pattern. After the foundation row there's a one row repeat of V-stitch and triple double crochet clusters, which kept it interesting even if it was a bit mindless.The odd thing about the yarn was the color variation shifted a bit in the middle of the scarf, but I liked the effect. Once it reached 72" as per the pattern I fastened it off. I had a small ball of yarn left over, so it was a decent one-skein project. Two 5 oz. skeins of worsted would make this if you don't have a jumbo skein.

The yarn lot I thrifted with multiple skeins of the same yarn just arrived, let's see if it really was the bargain I thought. There are 26 skeins of yarn, including vintage skeins of Natura white (11), Dazzleaire (3), K-mart labeled ombre (2), Bernat Baby Softee (2), unlabeled big Mohair (2) and one moonlight mohair, all of which are discontinued. There was also a tool which I think is for knitting in the round. Downside: just one; some of the skeins were obviously stored in a not too clean place, and have some debris on the outside, so I will need to hand-wash those before I use them. Upside: The white acrylic yarn, which was the reason I bought this lot, is in very nice, clean shape. Six of the skeins were actually still in their shipping bag from the original manufacturer. Quite a bit of this discontinued yarn sells for big bucks now. This skein of Moonlight Mohair retails for $14.70 on Amazon. Dazzleaire sells for around $8.99 a skein these days. Na...

I've been tucking a little money away all year so I could shop at the county quilt show, and this was my haul. As I mentioned before I really meant to skip fabric this year, but I saw some bargains I couldn't pass up (and now that my calendar project for next year has shifted back to quilting I needed some.) I spent about half my money in the guild's boutique buying things they made like the placemats and chili pepper hot pad; this helps support their work. I also got some fabric carrots and a pin kit. I visited many of the vendors, who offered some very cool bargains. One was this mystery bag from The Quilted Peacock. Lots of scrap and yardage fabric inside, plus a book quilt pattern and a walking foot for a Janome. I'm going to pass along the latter but I might make a book quilt out of all the fabrics. :) One vendor complimented me on my OOAK shirt, which a dear friend made for me. So I bought these embroidery threads from her booth. You say ni...