Crocheted Doily Rug

I started this blog to have a place to show my projects - but I've sorely neglected posting anything in a long time!!!  Some people on Crochet Partners wanted to see the rug I made that protects my cedar chest . . . so maybe I'll get back in gear and start posting other pics, too!  For now, here's the rug . . . I can't find the pattern book right now.  I think it was a Leisure Arts book called Floor Show - or maybe Floor Doilies?  It's made crocheting 3 strands of yarn as one - I used Red Heart Super Saver.

Felted cradle purses

My next attempt at felting was to make cradle purses. I felted the bottom (cradle) part and then crocheted the top similar to a lot of the free patterns you can find online. For the bottom, I used the basic pattern of my draw-string bag below, except I didn't make it square - only about half the size and then did the sides like the drawstring bag. The hard part was punching the holes so I could crochet into them for the top part of the bag. The bottom is a little flimsy for the cradle, but not bad and as you can see, my granddaughters loved them. I think these could even be used as a purse when they get a little older and don't play with dolls anymore. I used different kinds of yarn for the top part, but the bottom, of course, had to be feltable wool. I got the babies at Wal-mart for $1 and crocheted little blankets and pillows for them.

Felted Slippers

After my success making felted purses, I decided to try making slippers for my grandkids for Christmas. The little slippers were SO cute - and it was fun to be able to even try them on myself BEFORE the felting process . . . and then see how much they shrank when they were done!! I bought the pattern for these - a Fiber Trends pattern you can find online called Crocheted Felt Slippers for children. I usually crocheted both slippers and felted them at the same time, but I decided it would be fun to actually see the difference felting makes, so this time I felted just one. These pictures show one slipper before felting - and it's matching slipper after. Neat, huh???

My felted drawstring bag/purse

When I came across a felted tote bag at a local shop, I HAD to try it myself. I found that felting is ADDICTIVE!! :-) I decided to just "wing it" and this is what I came up with.

One really neat thing about felting is that you don't have to line your purses/bags - take a look inside . . .

Cute - and easy - little girl ponchos

I made these ponchos for my granddaughters a few years ago. They were easy to adapt to the sizes I needed so I even made matching ponchos for their dolly! They were fun to do and fun to see my beautiful granddaughters wear them!!! :-)

If anyone is interested in these patterns, you can email the designer directly at eleanorrs@cox.net. Ele was very helpful - and her patterns are reasonably priced and available to be emailed - which I liked. :-)

Candy Corn

I've decided to start my own blog to share some of the things I've made and new projects I'm working on.

Since this is fall, it's a perfect time for candy corn hats. A friend's daughter just had a new baby, so I made a candy corn cap for her little guy. I got the pattern at this link: http://peanutzmom1.tripod.com/candycorn.html. They're always a big hit - and SO cute!

Then my niece's baby had her first birthday - so I made a candy corn poncho for her. I used the Baby Bows and Arrows Poncho pattern which can be found here: http://patbythehook.blogdrive.com/archive/67.html but I used Simply Soft yarn in candy corn colors. I didn't get a good picture of Libby in it, so here's a picture I took with my "resident model" wearing it. :-)