Summer Dreams Plarn Basket!

Today, I've had to stay home from work due to the snow. I'll probalby go in in Saturday and make up time if I can get out.

This is the approaching storm...all the trees are covered in white now.













I am dreaming of summer: so I designed a Plarn Basket today!

I put some fruit in it to show how it looks filled. Could be used outdoors during summer. A Nice container for a picnic, etc.

Here's my attempt at a pattern. Never wrote one for someone else to follow before, so let me know if you have suggestions.

 Now this is important: This is my pattern, so do not reprint this pattern anywhere or sell it or try to sell it anywhere! You may feel free to make items from this pattern to sell in small quantities if you are a crafter selling at fairs or shops. I know how hard it is for some folks to come up with their own designs. If you are making to sell; please charge a price that takes into account your work. As it takes 2.5 hours to prepare the plarn and 2 hours to crochet the basket, I would like it if anyone trying to sell this not go below $25. As that is what I am going to ask at my fairs.

Materials: about 55 white standard size grocery bags. About 10 grey standard size grocery bags. The bags are sliced into 1.5 inch wide rings and looped together. you'll have to google how to do that on your own for now if you don't know how.

It took me 2.5 hours to prepare the 65 bags. Make two separate balls. One white bags and one grey.
Size N (10mm) crochet hook.

Chain 3 and join in a ring: try to make it tight as I have found the plarn centers stretch quite a bit.
Work in the round with out joining, you may want to use a bit of contrasting yarn or plarn to mark the beginning of the rows.

R1: 8 sc in ring
R2:  2 sc in each stitch (16 sts
R3: 1 sc in next st, 2sc in next st - repeat all the way around (24 sts)
R4: 1 sc in each of next 2 st's, 2 sc in next st repeat all the way around(32 sts)
R5: 1 sc in each of next 3 st's, 2 sc in next st repeat all the way around(40 sts)
R6: sc in next st, chain 2, repeat all the way around
R7: Chain 2, sc in the chain 2 space of the prevous row, chain 2, sc in the sc of the previous row- repeat all the way around (80 sc's)
R8: Chain 2, sc in the chain 2 space of the previous row - repeat all the way around
R9: You will be decreasing in this row: (ch2, sc in the ch2 space) 8 times, sc two together across two of the chain 3 spaces. repeat all the way around (74 sc's)
R10: Chain 2, sc in chain 2 space - repeat all the way around
R11: another decrease row: Chain 2, sc 2 together (across two of the chain 2 spaces) - repeat all the way around
R12: repeat row 11
R13: switch to grey plarn: 2 sc in each chain space and sc in each sc
R14: decrease row: sc in each of next 2 sc, sc next two together - repeat all the way around
R15: sc all the way around
R16: back loop slip stitch all the way around
R17: switch to white: back loop slip stitch all the way around and finish off.

Took me 2 hours to do the crocheting. So all in all it took 4.5 hours to complete!!!

Whew! OK....not sure how clear that is. I have know idea how to write a pattern. Please leave me your comments, corrections and suggestions for clarity. And let me know if you like the pattern!

p.s. I ran out of gray plarn, but I bet it would look great with several more rows of slst or sc alternating white and gray ...
copyright: 2011 Angela McCormick

Plarn grocery sack to sell at Farmer's Market

Well...I made this tapestry crochet plarn bag last year.....Listening to folks talk at my farmers market booth, I frequently heard comments about how few groceries could fit in it....well, it's a tote bag....

So that got me to thinking that folks want GROCERY BAGS made out of grocery bags; rather than tote bags. So today......I designed this.....
Sorry about the trampouline I thought the black background brought out the stitches better.....
here it it full of groceries!

It works pretty good...I added a bunch of extra stitches around the ends of the handles as I figured those would be the weak points.

Took me about 4 hours to make. while I was working on it I watched youtubes of craft fair booths to try to get myself some inspiration and motivation to keep working. I am sooo looking forward to Spring, planting a garden, and my farmer's market booth. I miss talking to everyone on Saturdays!!!!

Only one problem...I was so enthusiastically crocheting that I broke my 9mm hook......:(

I didn't think I was pulling on it that hard....it just snapped in two....So I pulled out my 10mm N hook as I can't find my other M hook. I've never seen this size in aluminum in the stores, I'm hoping I can find it in aluminum somewhere.

Oh, and before I forget, saw some neat youtubes on spnning plarn using a sewing machine, makes really nice plarn! I'm out of bags! I gotta go hit the Ingle's recycling bin and try this!!!!

This video just blows me away! Can you believe the beautiful plarn she was able to create!

Leave me a comment or two! I'd love to hear from y'all!

Too sore to crochet today

Don't know if it's the new pillow or holding my head an at angle because I put some peroxide in my ear last night....didn't crochet yesterday so it's not that, woke up so incredibly sore across both shoulders. I got some really great ideas for some small children's purse patterns and am disappointed that I can't work on them...tried some, but just way too sore. Hope I'll be able to crochet on my day off tomorrow. Here are some hats I made last week while at home during the snow storm:

 I looked up how to do crocheted cables and once I got the hang of it tried my hand at a  hat...no pattern..just did the increases on the back post dc's between the cables,.

Here's another men's hat with my favorite spikey design.

And one more green, black and camo hat...sorry about the picture quality

This is a pic of the UHF antenna DH made us out of wire coat hangers, works pretty good.

And a bit of the view from out my back door.



Tapestry Fusion Hat

I call this cap tapestry fusion because I started out with tapestry crochet, and then started getting impatient with the amount of time it was taking and didn't like the way the camo was pooling so I switched to just doing a few rows of each color and then did a few rows of slip stitch. 
This is made with Redheart for the solid colors: black and two shades of green. and a Camo that I think was Bernat; but am not sure.  For some reason the lighter green in the camo looks almost neon in the photo; it looks a bit better in person - just a lighter green. I was thinking of ripping it all out at first. Then just decided to finish it and see how it looks. It's pretty big,  about 24 inch head circumference. Hopefully someone will like it at this summers farmer's market.

Here is a close up of the "brim" area. I did a row of skipping a SC using a chain instead and then in the next row did sc's and did a dc down into the skipped stitch. then did 2 slip stitch rows to end off. one into the back loop and the second row sl from back to front in the back loop to hopefull get it to lay flat instead of curing up.

Went to Michaels today and found Loops and Threads Charisma was on sale for 1/2 price...soooo....

Three Holiday, three Bouquet and two black.....Just couldn't pass up $1.99 each...but this is NOT helping me reduce my stash. My intention was to use up all the discounted Redheart I had bought in October before buying any more yarn....I'm getting buried in yarn...it's hiding in all kinds of places in the house.....gotta get to some high speed crocheting and get more stuff ready for the Farmer's Market in Spring. Now ...what to make...hats...headbands....scarves....fingerless mitts....mp3 cozies....tote bags.....so much yarn...so many places to go....where to start...I do not know......