Pretty Ponchos

I made more of my asymetric ponchos for the fashion team at work. It gets cold in the office sometimes so they like to have something pretty to wrap up in. I started making these ponchos after a customer at a craft fair I was selling in asked me if I made ponchos. I thought, "Ponchos - do people still wear those?" Then she emailed me a picture of one she saw Jennifer Lopez wearing in the movie "Monster In Law" and I was hooked. I started searching the internet for other images of ponchos and found out they are popular again. The next craft fair I had made several and sold some and that's how I came to make so many for the fashion team at work. They saw them and voila - I was mass producing ponchos. That first round I made 16 of them and a scarf for one of the guys.

This last batch I made was 5 or 6 (I forget!) and another scarf. It was fun to make them in the different colors they picked. They had me make one in pink, blue and red as well as some black. One of these days I will write out that pattern and share it here. If you want me to make you one I am now selling them on Etsy. Just click on the link and you can have one too!

Some of the gals took pictures and said they wouldn't mind if I share them. I also made a scarf for one of the guys on the team - he is pictured as well. Fun to wear—they can be worn with jeans or dressed up!

Please comment below and let me know what you think of these ponchos. I really want to know!

This picture is from the first batch I made. There were 16 total (only 13 pictured here)!

Crocheted Rag Rug

I had a old sheet that didn't have a fitted sheet to match anymore because the elastic gave out and I didn't know what to do with it. After scouting around for some great idea I found some YouTube videos explaining how to tear the sheet to make "yarn" for use in projects like crocheted market bags or rag rugs. A couple of weeks ago I tore the sheet and wound it into a pretty good sized ball. It was fairly easy to do. The hardest part was dealing with the string fibers that were made from the tearing. You have to pull those off and throw them away. They have a tendency to cling to your hands and had a way of finding their way back to stick on my pant legs. But eventually I got the ball wound.

The other night I decided to use my "yarn" and start on an oval rug. I began with a chain of 18 using an "S" hook. It is a super big hook and makes crocheting with the fabric easy! Then I single crocheted in each chain to the end with 3 extra stitches in the end and then down the back side of those stitches to the other end. Three extra stitches in that end finished one round. I didn't have a pattern but kept going around and increased in about every other stitch on the ends to keep the rug from curling. In about an hour I had a 12 inch wide by about 24 inch long oval. I'm not finished yet but I will work on it when I have time until the yarn runs out. If the rug is too small to be practical I may end up finding the fitted sheet with the rotten elastic and make more yarn. I will keep you posted on my progress!

Baby Emily's Quilt

Before my granddaughter Emily was born I made this quilt for her using fabric from Moda's Ruby Fabric line. I love the colors and was happy to finally have a project to make with the charm pack I bought. I added some additional yardage from a store in St. George. (Sorry I don't remember which shop it was. My daughter and I went on a quilt shop shopping spree and visited so many that day!)

It was made in standard rows with a strip between rows 2 and 3 on which I added three flowers and Emily's name. There is also sashing on both sides of the strip and a border all around the outside in the same fabric. Then an additional border in a contrasting fabric all from the Moda line. I forgot to take a picture of the back but it was just a plain pink fabric.

I quilted every other block with a heart and then a flower using my regular sewing machine. The quilting isn't perfect - I'm still learning - but it was quilted with love!

I finished the quilt before my daughter's baby shower except for the binding. In order to "give" it to my daughter at her shower I used my serger and serged all the way around the quilt to finish it temporarily until I had time to bind it.

The other day I finally got around to binding the quilt and will officially give the blanket to Emily  as soon as I see her next!

Hex Crocheted Handbag

Sometime ago I saw some videos by futuregirl detailing how to crochet hexagons into a tote. I watched the videos, favorited them and bookmarked her site so I could make one in the future. I wanted to know how to crochet a hexagon so this project was a perfect way to make some and put them together into a project that wouldn't take too long to finish.

The other day I was looking at my favorites on YouTube and found the videos and remembered how I wanted to try them so I got my yarn together and began. I decided that my daughter Kayla could use a new purse. I had crocheted her one months ago and she has used it hard and it looks like it. So I picked her favorite Rasta colors and put this bag together. I lined it with pockets and put a magnetic snap in as well. The bag is about 16" x 17". The strap was made by double crocheting a strip as long as I wanted it and sewing it around a piece of cording and then sewing it to the bag. Its different from the strap that futuregirl makes. The last bag I made my daughter we bought a strap but I wanted to see how a crochet strap made this way would hold up.  I will be sending the bag off to her very soon! I hope she loves it!

 Sorry the pictures of the lining are overexposed. Still trying to figure out how to use my Nikon D-60!

See the magnetic snap and the pockets!

The Hex Handbag hanging out in my garden!