I get Anxious

True story. 

About anything and (almost) everything. Crochet is one of the things I do to reduce the anxiety. The trouble with the blog though is if I don't have something to show off, I have no idea what to write about. Or if what I have in mind will be interesting. But then I go and look at my stats, and I'm re-encouraged by my steady stream (alright trickle) of readers. 

I don't have to worry about that today though! Because I have TWO finished projects to show you.

First is the afghan for my mom. For Christmas last year, I promised to make her an afghan, and let her help design it. Her birthday present this year (end of June) was the finished product. I spent about 3 months working on it (intermittently). It is super cozy, and made out of Charisma yarn by Loops & Threads. The stitch pattern is the Done in a Jiffy Blanket which I found on Ravelry. 

<sarcasm> Perfect for all this frosty weather we've been having! </sarcasm>

BIG blanket.

Close up.

My second project to show you is a golf club head cover I made for my dad's friend Ken. It's a canary!

The reason it's a canary, is that when Ken, my dad, and their friends play scrambles, Ken always shoots first so the rest of the team can use his shot to read the conditions. He's sort of their "canary in a coalmine". 

Next up on my to do list is a companion cube from Portal! I'm designing the pattern myself, as well as keeping track of it so I can put the pattern up on my Ravelry. I've got all the pieces figured out, I just need to finish making them all and piecing them together. It's going to be awesome though!

What are you working on this summer? 

For the Beginners

This is for all those beginner crochet artists out there!
I've got two (that's right, TWO) free patterns for you today. They're both super easy, and don't require anything more difficult than a dc stitch. The best part? These are awesome projects that look and work great (without making you look like a noob). 

The first pattern is one you may recognize if you've read my old posts from 2012. It first appeared last January in Baby it's Cold Outside. Here is an example and a close up of the stitch.

Example from 2012

Close up of Kelsey's Shell Scarf

It's mainly just a super simple shell stitch, but if you need help starting & finishing for a scarf you can just check out my Shell Scarf pattern! My biggest tip for anyone doing a project with shells is to always end with a half shell. If you do it this way, every row will be exactly the same (instead of having to go back and forth between two kinds of rows), AND all your turns will only be ch 1 which (in my opinion) makes the sides of the scarf look a lot better. 

The second pattern I have for you today is a dish cloth, and it's not just any dishcloth, it's an Epic Dishcloth. 

Epic Dishcloth (Folded)

I call it epic because it has a great texture for hand washing dishes and it's also easy to make. It's the perfect combination, don't you think? The best yarn to use for dishcloths is definitely Sugar'n Cream. If you choose not to use it, just make sure your yarn is 100% cotton. Why? Cotton absorbs up to 27 times it's weight in water. If you need an idea for what to do with the rest of your cotton yarn, I highly recommend one of these lovely scrubbies!

Happy Hooking!