It's a matter of a Crocheted Headband....so easy to do!

Believe it or not, I made this Knotted Crocheted Hairband in about 30 minutes.  It was inspired by a post at "You Seriously Made That?". I wore it to church, and got compliments from the Young Single Adults.  I was pleased and surprised.  Also, I am not too proud to say that the pictures in the "You Seriously Made That?"  blog tutorial are much better than mine.  It is difficult to admit defeat, but in this case...you may want to follow her directions until you get to the section on attaching the ribbon..  I made an adjustment to this hairband, which I will show you later.

I made this entire thing from materials I already had.  I love when you can do that, don't you?  Here is my attempt to show you how to do this:



Single Crochet 2 chains.  (You will need a H or a J Crochet Hook).  One chain will have 160 single chains stitches and the other will have 300.  Fold each chain into thirds.

Now, I am going to introduce some 'abbreviations' to help with this process. "LC" means 'long chain' and "SC" means 'short chain'. The letter "R" means right and "L" means left.  So, when combined, "LCR" would mean 'Long chain right side' etc.

Take the LC and make a look with the LCR over the LCL.

Place the SC in a semi-circle on top of the LC.

Take the SCL and place it under the LC loop.

Take the SCL and place it over the LC loop.

Now, don't get lost here.Take the SCR, go under the SCL and over the LC loop.

Pull the ends to make a beautiful knot.

I used Grosgrain ribbon, but you could use Satin ribbon if you chose to. Cut two 15" lengths and two 4" lengths of your ribbon.   Here is where I depart from the method proposed by "YouSeriously MadeThat".

Instead of hot gluing the Crochet chains and the ribbon, I chose to sew them.  For me, I was concerned that the hot glue could be stiff.  In addition, if this headband got tossed in the dryer, I would be concerned that the hot glue would melt all over my clothes. Instead, I used the following method.  I sewed the 4" length of ribbon into a loop. I chose to use my Serger, but his could also be done on a traditional sewing machine.

I slipped the loop over the ends of the Crocheted chain. I slide it down nearly to the ends of the chains.

I then slipped the end of the long length of ribbon under the loop.

Lay all rows of the Chain Stitch side-by-side so that they come from the knot to the Ribbon loop in a parallel fashion.  Using a Zig-Zag stitch, I sewed across the top and the bottom of the loop.  I could have made this a Satin stitch to make it more 'beautiful'.  For me, the Zig-Zag stitch was a functional choice.

Finally, I clipped the ends of the chains just below the ribbon loop.

Here is the finished product.  Just tie it together at the base of your neck.

I was pleased with how well this project turned out, and was grateful it didn't take a lot of time.

What is the take-away here?  If you are new to Crocheting, this project is a really easy introduction, and you get satisfaction very quickly. Having completed something like this gives folks who are new to Crochet the confidence to try something else. It also makes a really nice gift!

Try it!

Religious Freedom.....So Precious....So Needing our Protection...

Image courtesyof bevanresort

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints will be publishing a series of articles on Religious Freedom.  I am taking an excerpt from the first article that was published on January 3, 2012 entitled An Introduction to Religious Freedom.  It is thought provoking.  I have long been concerned about the encroaching restrictions on many of our personal liberties by those with viewpoints encouraging social justice. I find the ideals of Social Justice and associated causes dangerously destroying our Self Determination and Personal Freedoms.  That is most likely why I will be reading, with great interest I may add, this series of articles.  I encourage you to take the time to do so.

Here is one excerpt from this article that I found particularly thought-provoking:

Challenges to religious freedom are emerging from many sources. Emerging advocacy for gay rights threatens to abridge religious freedom in a number of ways. Changes in health care threaten the rights of those who hold certain moral convictions about human life. These and other developments are producing conflict and beginning to impose on religious organizations and people of conscience. They are threatening, for instance, to restrict how religious organizations can manage their employment and their property. They are bringing about the coercion of religiously-affiliated universities, schools and social-service entities. They are also resulting in reprimands to individuals who act in line with their principles, from health practitioners and other professionals to parents. In these and in many other circumstances, we see how religious freedom and freedom of conscience are being subtly but steadily eroded. And of equal concern, the legal provisions emerging to safeguard these freedoms are often deceptively shallow — protecting these liberties only in the narrowest sense. In many aspects of public life, religious freedom and freedom of conscience are being drawn into conflicts that may suppress them.

Our Personal and Religious Freedoms Are Ours.....To Lose.  Act Today!

New year....what about new skills?

 

Image courtesy of Craftyminx.com

I have been mulling over the direction I would like to take with 2012.  I have lots of random thoughts, but have decided to include new skill sets for sure.   
I do Crochet, but have usually limited myself to 2-3 stitches.  Well, this wonderful blogger, Craftyminx, has an entire tutorial/syllabus on Crocheting.  You even get to graduate!  Here are a list of the classes:


•Lesson 1: Welcome & Intro to Crochet

•Lesson 2: Crochet Hook Basics

•Lesson 3: Yarn Basics

•Lesson 4: Yarn Meets Hook

•Lesson 5: After the Chain

•Lesson 6: The Single Crochet Stitch

•Lesson 7: The Half-Double Crochet Stitch

•Lesson 8: The Double Crochet Stitch

•Lesson 9: The Treble Crochet Stitch

•Lesson 10: The Double-Treble Crochet Stitch

•Lesson 11: The Slip Stitch and Weaving in Ends

•Lesson 12: Review

•Mid Term Exam!

•Lesson 13: Increasing

•Lesson 14: Decreasing

•Lesson 15: Creating Texture

•Lesson 16: Working in the Round

•Lesson 17: Granny Square 101

•Lesson 18: Working With Color

•Lesson 19: Preparing for a Pattern and All About Gauge

•Lesson 20: Reading Patterns

•Lesson 21: Reading Crochet Charts

•Lesson 22: Blocking and Seaming

•Lesson 23: Common Mistakes/Fixes and Graduation!

I think I feel a new project coming on. 
 

Go visit this wonderful blog today...and Create!

Its a matter of a Nursing Cover.....for a new baby!

We have a new little grandson who has graced our family.  He came a couple of weeks early, and his parents have been playing a bit of 'catch-up' since he surprised them by his early arrival.  Just a few days after this beloved little one was born, his mother contacted me and asked me if I could make her a Nursing Cover.  This was needed as he actually was born the day before his mother was to have a Baby Shower with her friends.  Since he had arrived, the shower did not happen and she found herself needed a few items, which included a Nursing cover.

I was happy to do this for her.  But, as it was December, with all of it's magical events, I had to make sure I got it done quickly, and still kept my other obligations.  No worries, it was fun to do and did not take a great deal of time or skill. I found instructions from Pinkatilly and modified them just a little.

I choose colors I knew this new mother liked.  I decided to make this Nursing Cover reversible and added a little 'surprise' which I will show you later made from the solid color fabric noted above.

To make this cover, you will need to using "Boning".  I found this package that carried the product in a roll.

Cut the fabric for your cover to a 37" by 25" piece.  As I was making this reversible, I cut both contrasting fabrics to this size.  As you can see from the above picture, I am using a Rotary Cutter, my Self-healing mat, and a straight edge.  This helps me get a precise cut and size.

Here, I am altering the pattern. I cut 5" squares of flannel. After they are cut, fold them into triangles and press into that shape.

Cut the strips (one 37" by 2.75" and the other 10" by 2.75"). Fold in half and sew with a 5/8's inch seam. Sew along 3 sides leaving the last side (small side) open.  Clip the corners, turn the tie inside out and press. Take the smallest strip, fold in half, place through both "D" rings.  Pin the short strip on the right side of the fabric (in half threaded through "D" rings) 6 and 1/2 inches from the center on one side and pin the long strip 6 1/2 inches from the center on the opposite side. Sandwich the strips between the contrasting pieces of fabric. Sew at 3/4" across the top.  Place the boning between the strips in the 3/4" seam. Using a Zig-zag foot, sew along the top edge of the boning encasing it in the seam.

Open the fabric and place wrong sides together.  Top stitch along the bottom edge of the boning (as above) between the two fabric strips.  Turn the fabric again and place right sides together. Pin all edges except the bottom edge and bottom two corners together.  Pin the fabric triangles in the bottom two corners. Pin contrasting fabrics with corner triangle.  Stick each side from the top, turn the corner, and stopping about 8 inches from the bottom corner. Repeat on the other side. Clip the corners. Using the opening created, turn the unit inside out.

As you can see the flannel triangles are in the lower corners. The flannel is mean to use as a bit of a 'burp cloth' to wipe little mouths during or after nursing.

Pin the opening long the bottom closed.  I choose to Top stitch all around the unit to keep both large pieces of fabric together.

To wear, feed the long fabric strip through the "D" rings and adjust the cover to your liking. 

So, how much time did this take?  Well, I got up early and made this before work one morning.  I dropped it off to the new mother during my lunch hour.  It was fast, and turned out really cute.

Give it a try!

Survival Top 50

Hi Folks:

Again, our blog has been listed in the "Survival Top 50" readers choice list.  The voting for this year is open again.  If you feel like our blog has been helpful to you this year, would you kind enough to vote for it at the following link:

http://www.survivaltop50.com/readers-choice-awards/

Also, if you have suggestions of what you would like to learn more about, please feel free to comment below.  I so appreciate all of you and want to thank you for a wonderful 2011.  We look forward to learning more together in 2012.

Thank you!