Category: Crochet

Crochet, Eco-friendly, Kids

Crocheted whats?!

DaysRiver

Our recent weekends have been rather hectic. Memorial day was a small, much needed break for us, but it was followed by a very long mini trip to Ohio to attend our youngest son’s college graduation. Ten hours in a vehicle (one way) is a long time.

But while I was a captive in the co-pilot seat, I managed to work on a new product…crocheted water balloons.

If you are wondering just how these work, no, you don’t fill them. You fill a bucket with water, toss them in to get them wet, then throw them at the nearest unsuspecting target. If they get dry, dip them again and go.

It’s not a great quality video, but our nieces and nephews love them.

They had an absolute blast!

Their mom was stoked because clean up was a breeze. No balloons to take a ton of time filling. No little pieces littering the yard. No worries about latex allergies or the family pet(s) eating any bits missed in the aftermath.

And the fun goes as long as the kids have the energy.

Once the fun is over, just let them dry out. Or, if you prefer (or if they get dirty), toss them in the wash with the beach towels and they’ll be ready to go for the next epic battle.

This pattern from Left in Knots was a great find.

And yes, they are available for purchase from our Etsy store.

Crochet, Yarn Review

Whew. I’m sweating!

DaysRiver

Now that the weather is beginning to warm up, I’m absolutely thrilled that this large afghan I decided to make as a housewarming gift for my co-worker is done. This will definitely be the last of the large crochet projects I tackle until fall.

I utilized a pattern called Icelandic, from Mama In A Stitch, which is a great one to use when you want to crochet while watching TV at night. Other than counting for your foundation chain, this is a no count pattern. It is two stitches alternating all the way across, chain one, turn and crochet across making sure to use the opposite stitch. Another great thing is the size of your blanket merely depends on two things: 1) the length of your foundation chain and 2) the size of your yarn stash funds.

And if you goof it up like I did right here…

…it is glaringly obvious.

That was a turn, chain and crochet across before I’d reached the end of the previous row. It’s what tends to happen when I crochet tired.

While I love this stitch pattern and plan to use it on other projects, I did NOT like the yarn I chose to use. I bought Yarn Bee Effortless Super Bulky and will probably never use this yarn again. It sheds an awful lot and I’m really hoping it holds up well enough.

I’m actually thinking I should include a lint roller in the package when I give it to her.

Crochet

(K)Not it!

DaysRiver

Although crochet is basically an art of making knots, really making a knot is exactly what you don’t want to do. Most of the time this isn’t an issue. But then you get the bright idea to try a buffalo plaid pattern which requires you to juggle three separate yarns, and things get real.

There is a trick to it…with each color switch you must keep the strands in the same order as the skeins they are attached to. It’s pretty simple once you see it. It’s also easy to see when you’ve goofed, and if you stop and take a moment to fix it, keeping the colors straight is pretty simple.

To fix it when you notice your yarns have crossed, pick up the skein of the out of order color and thread it through the other strands until it’s back in order. Sometimes you’ll have two crossed and have to do this twice.

But like I said, if you take your time to keep them in order, you’ll end up with a fabulous looking product in the end.