Handmade Christmas Tree #1

I've decided to make a "handmade Christmas tree" this year! All the decorations will be homemade by me and I can't wait to see it all put together!

I wanted a really organic natural feel to everything, especially the tree topper.

This star turned out more perfectly than I could have hoped for, though it doesn't look like the pattern depicted at all!

This is the original...

Image Source

And here's mine...

This isn't my first go-round at the crochet hook and I do know how to read a pattern, but for some reason, mine looks nothing like the original!

The original pattern is here and the finished size is listed as 5 1/4 inches finished... I used the indicated hook size and thread size and it ended up being 12 inches across!

No idea what happened, but I love it!

To keep it on the tree, I placed a loop of elastic from one side of the center hole to the other. It makes a wonderful holder without distracting from the beauty of this piece.

I did starch the finished piece as part of the blocking process so that it will stand up as the tree topper.

I can't wait to see it all together as we get closer to Christmas and I'm looking forward to you seeing the rest of the decorations!

Table Runner

Update:
I just took the table runner down from my blocking board and here it is on my side table!


I got a wild hair to make this really cute table runner that I found on Ravelry (I spend waaaaay too much time there!).

Here is the pattern!

I ended up not being able to find the color in the original pattern, which I liked alot, but I did find the brand in a different color and stayed with that! It is going to be a Christmas gift so I thought the more neutral cream would be better than the gray.

The finished product before blocking is actually tiny, but it stretches tremendously!

Here it is in the process of being blocked... I'll let it dry over night and then wrap it up for Christmas!

Here's a close up of the pattern. Cute huh?

Total time to make this project was about 5 hours. Not too bad!

Let me know how it comes out for you! Happy Crafting!

Prayer Shawl

I was recently asked to make a prayer shawl for a friend. I found this really great, quick pattern for free on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/all-shawl

It includes 4 or so variations on the pattern; this shawl was made using the Long Pattern version and I Love This Cotton yarn.

The only thing that I changed about the pattern was I just used a regular DC stitch instead of the extended version that the pattern called for. It was a bit cumbersome and I found that it looked essentially the same with the regular DC!

Be careful to look at the chart provided for the pattern; the instruction can be confusing if you're not paying close attention!

The lace edging turned out beautifully after blocking. Originally the shawl was cream, however, the requested color was periwinkle. Sooo... I got to dye something for the very first time! I hopped over to JoAnn's and grabbed one of their powered dye packs of "deep purple".

I only used about a teaspoon of powder in 4 gallons of water and the color turned out perfectly!

Here is the finished product...

Lace!

Well, not real lace, but teeny tiny crochet that looks like lace.

It's made with mercerized cotton and the tiniest hook I have ever seen. This one took me about an hour and a half the first time I made one. The second took about 45 minutes. I've made 4 so far and hope to get the time down with each one that I make. So far it's working :-)

















So there you go. I love it! I'm thinking of making a pillow and having the lace over a solid color. I really like the way the color shows through! We'll see... a tablecloth would be nice too, but I'm not sure I could make 250 of them and maintain my sanity!

Pattern: Here is the pattern if you would like to attempt one for your very own!

Happy crafting!