Sunday, February 27, 2011

Yarn Evaluation 02/2011

Hi there! I couldn't post my new article for a while, because I'm working on my dream now. I'm happy to announce this my dream today. I'm going to open my crochet online shop at Etsy in March, so I'm working on preparation for that. When I open my shop, I'll announce again here.

Anyway, I'm going to tell you my yarn evaluation since I used some new yarn recently. I hope it can help you when you choose yarn for your projects.

Baby Bee Sweet Delight Pomp

Colors that I used :  Naked

Evaluation :★★★
I used this yarn for Motif bag.
A little shinny string is wove in the yarn, so the yarn gave my project good effect. The yarn weight is light, so I want to use it for accessory sometime.
Lily Sugar'n Cream Natural

Colors that I used :  Guacamole and Tumbleweed

Evaluation :★★★★
I used this yarn for Bird house set and Place mat
Cotton yarn is good for solid projects, because it can hold project shape. I also loved cotton yarn, because it easier to care for than acrylic, polyamide, rayon and wool. If you are beginner, cotton yarn is good for practice. Cotton yarn is not elastic, so you can crochet evenly.


Lily Sugar'n Cream Denim

Colors that I used :  Indigo

Evaluation :★★★★
I used this yarn for Summer room shoes
I like indigo color. This color is suitable for summer. I already have new idea with this yarn. I hope I can introduce the project soon! Lily cotton yarn usually recommends a USA size 8/H hook, so I thought those yarn have same thickness. However, I noticed the yarn thickness can vary even though the package recommend the same sized hook. I had to amend my original pattern for each label yarn.
Lily Sugar'n Cream

Colors that I used :  Country Red, Country Green and Wine

Evaluation :★★★★
I used this yarn for Summer room shoes and Tube scarf as corsage. 
I think the yarn is thickest among these three Lily cotton yarn. Lily brand doesn't have many shades of a color to choose from. I want to use cotton yarn during spring and summer, but I needed to chose acrylic, polyamide or rayon yarn for color that I want to use. 
Patons Pure

Colors that I used :  Lilac

Evaluation :★★★★★
I used this yarn for Accessory scarf. ( I'll introduce this project soon)
I love this cotton yarn!!! The yarn has a thin string woven around it, so it gives your project special effect. When I buy yarn, I try to use coupon to buy materials cheaper.  I have a hard time finding this yarn at my local shop, so I have to buy it online.


I Love This Cotton

Colors that I used :  Buttercup and White

Evaluation :★★★★
I used this yarn for Spring wreath as daffodil.
I think that this yarn has the best texture among cotton yarn that I used so far. This label yarn has a different look of cotton yarn, which has a shinny string woven in. I want to use it in my project sometime. 
Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread

Colors that I used :  Burgundy

Evaluation :★★★★★
I used this yarn for Necklace with crochet thread and choker.
I love crochet thread, because I like making crochet accessories. This thread is made from cotton, so it's easier to crochet than nylon thread. 
This time, I mostly told you about cotton yarn. I still have plans to use other cotton yarn this spring. I'll be able to post next my yarn evaluation in April.
Have a wonderful time with crochet☆
 

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Bird House Set

I like making various kinds of crochet project! Today, I'm going to introduce a crochet home decor. 
I got two free patterns, Felted tweety birds and Crochet keepers, and came up with this bird house set.


Wool yarn is required for the Felted tweety birds pattern, because it turns to felt after washing in a washing machine. However I don't like felted yarn. You know that wool is expensive yarn and there is a craft called felting. The largest feature of crochet and knitting is the stitch. If I felt the yarn, the stitches will disappear. That's why I didn't felt my project.

When I found Crochet keepers pattern, I thought that I can change the pattern into a bird house. I added the heart-shaped entrance, and decorated it with a flower and vine.



























I named this project Bird house set, so I'd like you to look inside the bird house.


The bird house set includes their nest and three eggs!! I put cotton and thin branches in the nest. These branches are came from my garden. I love gardening same as crochet. 
I came up the bird house set idea before last fall. When I was clearing up my garden last fall, I noticed that my Japanese basil shrub had completely dried up. I cut branches about 10 inches long, and saved them for the project. The branches color is dark red-brown, and smells of basil even though the branches have dried up. 

I gave the first bird house set to my mother-in-law as a birthday present. She loves blue birds, so she liked it. 
I made Goldfinch for mine. 

Stitches that I used in the project.
Chain, slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, treble crochet.

Yarn that I used in the project.
  • Caron Simply Soft : Country Blue, Sunshine, Persimmon
  • Yarn Bee Snow Flake Wool Blend : Limelight
  • Lily Sugar'n Cream : Landscape

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Choker ( Crochet Accessory #5 )

I'm going to introduce the crochet chokers I made today. I mainly used crochet thread in these projects, but It's good to use various texture yarn in one project. I also used different materials such as beads and leather in the projects.


To make adjustable choker, I used leather string as a tie. Of course, you may use ribbon  for that as well.

I like this trim pattern. It's called surprising shells. In the pattern, you don't need to decide how long you need to make foundation chain first, because you can adjust it's length while working on the pattern.
I used crochet thread for the trim, and used two different fluffy kinds yarn for the flower and fringe.







This edging pattern is called princess picots. It looks as gorgeous as it's name. I had to decide how long I needed to make the foundation chain first, besides I needed to know how many beads I needed to thread onto the crochet thread. I had a hard time figuring them out.
I like the butterfly motif. I made the butterfly with same color as the choker first, but I couldn't see it well. I made the white butterfly too, and put both butterflies together.





Stitches that I used in these projects.
Chain, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet.

Yarn that I used in these projects.
  • Red Heart Knit-Cro-Sheen Crochet Thread : White
  • Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread : Burgundy
  • Patons Lace : Midas ( flower )
  • Aramis Cosmetic : Pink ( fringe )

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Spring Wreath

How is your country's weather? It's snowing in Kentucky, U.S. However, my crocus, tulip and iris are coming up in my flower bed. These flower growth gave me the inspiration for this spring wreath that I'm going to introduce today.


I made six tulips and three daffodil flowers for the wreath. Holding the round shape, I used wire inside crochet green tube.  I made the wire circle first, then make the green tube around the wire by single crochet.  Along the way, I stuffed cotton into the tube. After that, I sewed the tulips and daffodils on the tube.
After I finished the tulips and daffodils, I thought something was missing, so I made a crochet ribbon. I've made two crochet wreaths in the past, but I decorated wooden wreaths with crochet. It's first time I've made an entire crochet wreath!
Making home decor is good way during spring and summer.

I've introduced this green yarn in my yarn evaluation. The yarn makes crochet project twist, so I didn't like it. However, I had another ball of this yarn, so I wanted to consume it.  My choice worked well this time, because twist effect made the tulip leaf look real. 

I often use flowers in my projects, because I love gardening! I want to try make other crochet flower.

Stitches that I used in the project.
Chain, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, treble crochet.

Yarn that I used in the project.
  • I Love This Cotton Super Soft : Buttercup, White (daffodil and ribbon)
  • Caron Simply Soft : Persimmon
  • Yarn Bee Snow Flake : Limelight



Friday, February 4, 2011

Necklace with Crochet Thread ( Crochet Accessory #4 )

When I posted about spring and summer crochet projects before, I introduced a necklace. This necklace is the same type of necklace, but it's a different color and design.  I designed this necklace to resemble red coral.


I like to use crochet thread when I make accessories, because the thread is good for making fine designs.  I also like to use large beads, which were placed between ruffles, because I don't need to thread the beads onto the yarn first. I can place the beads whenever I want to add them. However, those beads are more expensive than tiny beads, so I stock up when they are on sale.


This ruffle is called taryn's ruffle. I used the pattern in my last project, summer room shoes, as well. The pattern has large ruffle effect, so the necklace looks solid. 


I wanted the rest of the necklace chain simple to show the ruffle pattern effectively.  I just placed a thin pink colored bead every 8th single crochet when I was surrounding the wire frame.


Stitches that I used in the project.
Chain, single crochet, double crochet.

Crochet thread that I used in the project.
  • Red Heart Classic : Burgundy ( cotton )