Archive | October 2018

Reusable Cotton Face Scrubby

Oct29

Every craft show I’ve worked, someone has asked if I make face scrubbies.  Well, after playing with patter ideas for a bit, I can now say that yes, I do make face scrubbies.  These are made with Hobby Lobby’s I Love Cotton yarn, because I really do love how that cotton feels.  It’s so soft, and let’s face it, who wants to use something harsh on their face?  To wash them, just toss them in a lingerie bag and wash in cool water on a delicate cycle.  You can put the whole bag in the dryer, or spread the scrubbies out and let them air dry.

These are simple to make, but if you’d rather, you can pop over to Hamlin Craftworks and buy a few.

I used a G hook, which gives me a scrubby that is approximately 3.5″ in diameter.

Using a magic circle, ch 1, 10 sc, slip stitch into the top of the chain.
Round 2:  Chain 2, 2 dc in same stitch, 2 dc in each stitch around, slip stitch into the top of the chain.
Round 3:  Chain 2, 2 dc in same stitch, *1 dc, 2 dc* around, slip stitch into the top of the chain.
Round 4:  Chain 2, 1 hdc in same stitch, ch 1.  *Hdc, ch 1* in each stitch around, slip stitch into the top of the chain.

Finish off.

Happy hooking!

Show Number Three

Oct27

Hamlin Craftworks will have a booth at the Indian Land Fall Festival this coming weekend, November 3rd and 4th.  Come by and see me if you’re in the area!

Christmas Doorknob Hanger

Oct25

Years ago, my grandmother crocheted Christmas doorknob hangers.  I was feeling a bit nostalgic this year and I asked my mother to send me a few photos so I could try and recreate the pattern.  When I showed her a picture of my work, Mom approved and said it looked just like the ones Ma made.

As always, you may use the pattern below to make your own, or you can hop over to Hamlin Craftworks and buy a few!

Materials Needed:
Jingle bells
Plastic ring with a 2.5″ inside diameter, which will fit over standard doorknobs
Red Heart Mistletoe yarn
Size H crochet hook
Yarn needle

Abbreviations/Stitches Used:
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
st = stitch
beg = beginning

The Ring:
Round 1:  Join with a sl st around plastic ring.  Ch 1, 76 sc around ring, join with a sl st to beg sc.  Do not turn.
Round 2:  Ch 1, sc in same st, ch 5, *sk next st, sc in next st, ch 5*, repeat from * to * around, join with a sl st to beg sc.
Fasten off.

The Spirals:
Make 3 pieces (2 with ch 50, 1 with ch 60).
Slip bell on yarn and push down.
Ch 50 (or 60), pull bell up to hook.
Sc in first chain, 2 sc in second chain, 3 dc in all remaining chains.
Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

Attach the spirals to the yarn at the start/end point on the ring.  Weave in all ends.

Happy hooking!

Success at the SCCRA Conference

Oct22

I was a little hesitant about attending the SCCRA conference, since the cost of the booth was a bit expensive for my budget and I wasn’t sure how much of a return I would get.  Now that it’s over, I’m so glad I went.  I met a lot of really lovely folks and passed out a bunch of business cards and rate sheets.  A few people expressed an interest in possibly hiring me, so we’ll see if anything comes of it.  The best (and most surprising) part was that a few of the ladies saw me crocheting a scarf during some of our downtime and they pushed for me to bring my pieces in Sunday.  I checked with the coordinator and she approved it, so Sunday morning I hauled my tub o’ goodies to the court reporter’s convention.  I ended up selling several pieces, including a fairly expensive wrap.  I also received a commission for a baby blanket and beanie.  Such a wonderful bonus to the weekend!

Hamlin Craftworks

Oct20

I am super excited to announce that my online shop, Hamlin Craftworks, is live and ready for business!  Please bear with me while I get all of my pieces listed.  As always, if you see something on my Facebook page or at a craft show that you like, just let me know!

Cotton Swiffer Covers

Oct19

Several months back, I was asked if I could make swiffer mop covers for a few friends.  Sure, I said.  Why not?  I did a little searching a found a pattern that seemed to be very popular – the folks I talked to liked it, anyway.  So I made several of the covers, and, as far as I know, my friends were quite happy with them.  The only problem was that I HATED making them.  The pattern was fairly easy, but I hated it.  I swore off swiffer covers and promised myself that I’d never make another one.

Well, one of those friends contacted me recently and asked for some more covers.  What’s a girl to do?  Go pattern hunting, of course.  After a bit of searching, I gave up.  I may not be a fancy pattern writer, but surely I could come up with something I liked for a mop cover.  And so I did.

As always, you may use the pattern below to make your own, or you can hop over to Hamlin Craftworks and buy a few!

For this pattern, I used less than one ball of Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn and an H hook.  My finished piece is roughly 5″ by 9.5″, with plenty of stretch to slip over a standard swiffer/swiffer-type mop head.

Note: turning chains do not count as stitches.

Abbreviations:
Ch: chain
SC: single crochet
DC: double crochet
FPDC: front post double crochet

Chain 18

Row 1:  SC in second chain from hook and sc across.  Turn.
Row 2-7:  Ch 1, sc in first stitch and each stitch across.  Turn.
Row 8:  Ch 2, dc in first stitch and each stitch across.  Turn.
Row 9-25:  Ch 2, dc in first stitch, then alternate fpdc and dc across.
Row 26: Ch 2, dc in first stitch and each stitch across.  Turn.
Row 27-33:  Ch 1, sc in first stitch and each stitch across.  Turn.

Fold at DC row on each end. Starting in the corner, use a slip stitch or single crochet to hook the sc and dc sections together on one side. SC down the side, then work through both layers again to the corner. Repeat on the other side.

Finish off.  Weave in ends.

Happy hooking!

Waxhaw’s Autumn Treasures

Oct15

I had a great time at Waxhaw’s Autumn Treasures festival this weekend!  Chatted with lots of lovely folks, and might even get a couple of commissions.  The weather couldn’t have been better; cool and mostly sunny.

I had two setups this weekend.  I think I like the second one (Sunday’s) better.  That angled table was a bit more inviting.  Although the wrap is what snagged the attention of most folks.

Saturday’s Booth

Sunday’s Booth

My three favorite moments from the event:

1) A young fellow (maybe 12?) came into the booth looking at the baby blankets.  He was obviously not finding what he wanted, and he finally asked me if I had any blankets for $5.  Well, no, but I did have some cute beanie hats for babies that happen to be $5.  He bought a blue beanie and left.  An hour or so later, he comes back to the booth and he’s grinning ear to ear.  “My baby cousin loves his new hat!”  Y’all, I’m not kidding, I nearly teared up over that.  Not only because he was so pleased, but because he took the time to come back and tell me.  I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone do that before.

2) A lady was sucked into the booth by a blue blanket.  She kept touching it, and she finally pulled it out of the basket.  She told me about her granny who used to crochet blankets for her, but who is no longer here.  She has a blanket that’s worn thin from all the washing – and, let’s face it, from all the love.  While she was talking, she kept snuggling into the blanket, rubbing her face against it and squeezing it.  She bought the blanket, saying she had to have it, that she didn’t have anyone to make things like that for her anymore.  Yep, nearly teared up on that one too.  I still have all of the blankets my grandmother crocheted for me…

3) I was chatting with a lady who was looking at the champagne mohair wrap.  We talked about fibers and stitches and the work that goes into making something like that.  She, as did many other people over the weekend, checked the price tag.  Her response was something I’m just not used to hearing – “It’s totally worth that!”

Hurricane Michael

Oct12

Hurricane Michael was, for us, nothing more than a heavy rain event.  Thank goodness.

I still had the water and packs from Florence, so it was just a matter of getting a few snacks.  This one wasn’t forecast to do nearly as much damage as Florence, and I’ll admit it was hard to work up much concern.  I did feel a bit bad for the chickens, as I had just moved them to their new temporary home a few days earlier, but it was a good test of the sturdiness of the shelter.

We went outside yesterday after the rain eased off.  I keep meaning to buy a rain gauge, but let’s face it, I just use the puddle in the driveway to estimate how much rain we got (it’s deeper than it looks in this picture).

I was absolutely shocked when Sassy started splashing in the puddle.  Jake is my mud dog and Kodiak doesn’t like to get his toes wet.  Sassy’s never shown any interest in the puddle and has, in fact, screamed at Jake for flopping around in it.  I don’t know why, but today was different.  Sassy wasn’t quite as uninhibited with it as Jake often is, but the fact that she got in the puddle at all was amazing.  Maybe she’ll turn out to be a water dog after all…

I Should Know Better

Oct11

As I was prepping for the first craft show, I knew I needed to make some bunny loveys.  I wasn’t thrilled with the first iteration, mostly because of the ear color issue, so I’d been looking for a new pattern.  I found one that looked really good on paper and I thought it would work for me.  Well, common sense would suggest that I should make a complete bunny to be sure I was happy with it before spending a lot of time making parts, right?  Oh, no, not me.  I’d made several blankets – 19, I think – but I knew I didn’t have time to make that many bunnies, so I made enough ears for 10 and arms for 7 (the arms take longer and I was running out of time).

Then I sat down to make the first head.

I hated it.

I hated the shape, the size, the time involved, the whole thing.

So I modified the pattern I’d used before and went with that.  It’s working for me.  Maybe not as much as I might like, but they’re pretty darn cute.

This entry was posted on October 11, 2018, in Crochet.