Diagonal Striped Crocheted Pillow

I just finished crocheting this diagonal pillow using the colors that I used in my Cath Kidston granny square afghan.




I just love the stripes.  I found photos of several of these pillows on Pinterest and followed the link to this blog:   The 8th Gem .    She made her pillows using moss stitch.  I really like the look of half double crochets, so that's what I used.  Here's how it looks on our bed.  Think I need more?

The pillow is made by crocheting a chain that is the same length as the diagonal of your pillow form.  You turn and crochet (I did hdcs) back down the chain, add a stitch in the end, and crochet down the other side of the chain.  You keep going around that center chain, creating a tube that fits diagonally around your pillow. It's quick, easy, and I love the look.

She doesn't show how she closed her pillow, so I just made this up.  I stitched about 5 inches in from each corner and then slip stitched along the opening adding loops so that I could button the pillow around the form.  This way I can change to another pillow cover easily.

 

I should be working on UFOs, but I started and finished this pillow pretty quickly.

 I hope you take some time to take a few stitches each day.


Thanks for stopping by! 

Granny Square Love

Sorry.....I was tweaking some settings on my blog and accidentally took this post down.

This is one of the crochet books that I got for Christmas.  Granny Square Love by Sarah London is a great little book for granny square inspiration even if you already know how to make granny squares.




I love this photo with the little yarn balls in the bright colored plastic strainer!  

Look at this colorful market bag.  If I make this it will probably be used to carry a yarn or quilting project.

Christmas stockings.  I've thought about changing out our usual Christmas stockings.  We have the red velvet stockings with the white cuff, and our names are "written" on with glitter.

This pillow would be nice if you read in bed or if you have small children around.

 

These projects look like they would be pretty quick to do either for yourself or they would make great gifts. I think the granny square is my favorite crochet block, and I'm glad it is making a comeback all over the internet.

Here is the granny square afghan that I finished this fall.








  I hope you are finding some time to make a few stitches today.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Still Making Christmas Ornaments

I am still in Christmas mode and have been making  Christmas ornaments.  This little crochet stocking is pretty easy to make.  The pattern is over on Angie's (Sucrette) blog.  You can find the pattern, Little Christmas Socks, listed over on her side bar.   I think several of these would be cute all crocheted together in a chain.  This was my first try.  I think I need to move up a needle size on the next one.  The "lumpy row" by the heel is where I crocheted over my threads.  Next time I will take time to sew them in instead.  I also realized that I grabbed the wrong size crochet hook after I was finished.






Last year my daughter and I made these tiny Christmas stocking ornaments from a pattern that she adapted.  She drew up the fair aisle designs.  You can see how small these are compared to my Starbucks mug.



You've seen all of those neat red and white knit Christmas ornaments all over the internet.  This is my first attempt at knitting a Christmas ball.  I love these things, but it has been so long since I've knit anything on double point needles that it just felt awkward.  So I have to practice on this one for awhile.  I'm thinking that maybe I can come up with a pattern that is knit flat and then stitched up afterwards.  I know the time to work on Christmas things (at least for me) is right now while Christmas is still fresh on my mind.  Stay tuned.

 

If you have a pattern or a link for these knit Christmas balls, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!