Headbands and Flowers are in!

I apologize I have been off for a while everyone.  I've just been too busy with a new job lately to keep up.  Here we have a stylish adjustable headband.  You can see my future sister in law showing it off here.  I came across a funky headband tutorial on youtube done by OneVirtousWoman.  The headband part was so easy and it didn't take long at all.  I had no idea what a cluster stitch was until I saw her video.  The headband looked neat but I thought I would try and make some kind of neat flower on the headband to bring it out a little.  I really wanted to make something that looked like a hibiscus but nothing looked good from the tutorials.  So then I found a video on how to make the flowers used in this picture.  I made two flowers much like what bobwilson123 did.  I think I made an extra petal on each though.  She put hers on a headband so I thought it would be the right size.  I then attached the two flowers by stitching a button to the headband.

And here are the videos to help you make the same headband I did:

How to Crochet Headband by OneVirtuousWoman on youtube.com

How to Crochet the Flower for the Headband by bobwilson123 on youtube.com

Spring is in the air!

Happy Spring to you all!  The weather up North here has been wonderful.  It's nice and warm just like summer and we keep breaking the record highs.  Many people quit crocheting by this time since they don't feel like making nice warm blankets when it's hot outside.  I don't blame them since it's easy to overheat when making those around this time.  Let's stick with fast and easy things today.  I now have a new job that allows me to create.  I thought I would spruce up my workplace with these little butterflies.  They look so neat and add just the right touch!  I followed a 4 part tutorial on YouTube from syvannah101.  Two things I would like to let you know about her videos: 1. She will show you how to do the color changes 2. The one time she says to chain 2 , I would chain 3 to keep it consistent.  Each butterfly takes about 30-45 minutes once you get situated.

Crochet Butterflies Part 1 of 4 by savannah101 on YouTube

Crochet Butterflies Part 2 of 4 by savannah101 on YouTube 

Crochet Butterflies Part 3 of 4 by savannah101 on YouTube 

Crochet Butterflies Part 4 of 4 by savannah101 on YouTube 

Let the snow melt but continue to crochet snowflakes!

It's a gorgeous day outside for those of us in the midwest.  The sun is shining and the snow is melting away.  Most of us have spring on our mind and are anxious to go out and get our snapdragons and geraniums.  I felt it would be good to share with you all this snowflake I made.  It was my first crochet tatting project I've ever done.  Honestly, I thought I'd never do tatting.  I saw one old lady tatting at the pool when I was a kid and thought she was crazy for working with such tiny thread.  Now I guess I'm crazy too!  I came across the video on how to make this lovely snowflake by tjw1963, aka the crochet geek on YouTube.  I usually look at her videos on how to do the more challenging things.  Now I know what you're thinking, why would you want to crochet a snowflake at this time of year.  This snowflake took me at least 2 hours to learn how to make.  I'm sure it would take less time the more I make of these.  I would like to make a whole bunch of these snowflakes to use as ornaments on my Christmas tree.  In order to give myself plenty of time to work on these as well as other projects in between, I'd be happier to do them now than to do nothing but snowflakes during crunch time.  Crochet shouldn't have to feel like a chore when it's your hobby.  This project may have taken a while but it surely isn't hard to learn.  I urge you to at least give this one a try!

Crochet Snowflake Tutorial on YouTube by tjw1963

As far as getting your snowflake to be stiff, you can do a couple of things.  Most people just starch them and iron over while laid out in a towel.  Others will mix equal parts of crafting glue and water.  Then they will dunk their projects in the solution, get rid of the excess and lay out to dry flat on some old towels.

Asymmetrical Shell Crochet Tutorial by Bethintx1

Asymmetrical Shell Crochet Tutorial from Bethintx1 on YouTube

Under the Sea (of yarn, that is!)

Asymmetrical Shell Scarf in Purple

My most favorite places I've been to involve a beach.  I love everything that has to do with water and the beach.  During family vacations, I would literally swim all day long.  I would only come back inside to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom.  That was unless there was some kind of storm or no one wanted to be out on the beach to watch me as a kid.  I remember one time I got burned so bad from the sun from swimming all day.  I remember putting on a lot of sunscreen that day but I must have forgotten to put it on early enough from the last application.  I was burned so bad that my skin turned brown and crispy.  It was so tight that it would split.  It was worth it to me at the time.  I still love swimming but don't often get to go.

Today I'd like to share with you the asymmetrical shell stitch.  It looks wonderful and is a breeze to make a scarf using the pattern.  I came across a neat video from Bethintx1 on YouTube.  She's the one who taught me how to make this beautiful scarf.  Even though I want to keep this scarf for myself, I think I should donate it.  I'll make a few more scarves so I can donate several at one time.  I'm not sure yet who to donate but I think someone else would love this.  I will post the tutorial I followed to make this in another post.

Asymmetrical Shell Scarf in Brown

The brown scarf is the first asymmetrical shell project I've done.  I used up a partial skein of some yarn someone gave to me.  The purple one I made on the way down to Kansas City.  My family, friends and I were all headed down to the Chiefs Packers game when I made it.  Too bad the Packers lost.  It was a lot of fun seeing part of downtown Kansas City at night.  It was almost like summer when we had made it down.  50 degrees f is almost shorts weather if you come down from the North!  

Simple Shawls

Winter Shawl

I have a very low tolerance for cold temperatures.  When I visit other people's places, I almost always am freezing.  I don't have the heart to tell them though since it's something out of the norm.  My mother taught me how to crochet originally and she taught me how to do the single crochet stitch.  She only showed me how to make that ribbing effect which I thought was normal.  I now know you don't have to have ribbing if you don't want to.  My knowledge of crochet was very basic and beginner like for over 10 years.  I have been a "beginner" up until a few months ago when I started following YouTube tutorials.  The shawl up above is very special to me.  It may look ugly to some, but I love it.  I got some expensive wool yarn someone made by hand at a specialty yarn shop with my mother.  I had never worked with some expensive yarn before but I thought I would give it a shot.  I just fell in love with this wool yarn as it was kind of squishy.  This shawl is so warm and I love it! In the picture below I show you a shawl I've done for a dance.  My husband had a special homecoming dance every year at his college.  I wanted to make a shawl that would look very elegant and still sort of keep me warm for when we went out to dinner.  I also made a hat using a knifty knitter loom.  I really liked the yarn I used for the fancy shawl.  The yarn reminded me of snow.  I had gotten that yarn at Hobby Lobby for a ridiculous price.  It's very funky yarn to deal with so if you haven't crocheted much before, I'd suggest using a more plain yarn until you get the hang of it.  I'm hoping to make another shawl soon but with a nice fancy pattern.

Dancing Shawl

To be honest, I don't really have much of a pattern for making these shawls.  I just chained up until the size I wanted and then single crocheted down the row, chained one, turned and single crocheted in the back loop for each row.  When I did the fringe, I just cut a lot of small pieces and tied them on to the edges of the shawl.

Crochet Large Rose Tutorial by Bethintx1

Crochet Large Rose Part 1 of 3 By Bethintx1 on YouTube

Crochet Large Rose Part 2 of 3 by Bethintx1 on YouTube

Crochet Large Rose Part 3 of 3 (Leaves) by Bethintx1 on YouTube

Roses are Pink, Roses are Blue...

Rose

Valentine's Day is coming up and that makes me think of roses.  I enjoy seeing the many varieties and colors they come in.  The neatest rose I've seen would have to be the blue rose.  I was so excited when I saw one for the first time.  It's nice to see something so unique once in a while.  I remember when my husband used to get me a rose for each month we were together as boyfriend and girlfriend.  He told me he wanted to do that for as long as he could.  That only lasted for about 6 or 7 months.  Then he got me plants every now and then.  I have a green thumb and absolutely love fresh flowers.

On another note, I wanted to show you these lovely roses I've made.  The top one was the first rose I've ever crocheted.  I thought it would be hard to do but it was so simple that I could do this in my sleep.  Bethintx1 on YouTube had a tutorial on how to make these roses.  Below is an example of how I used my rose as an applique.

Wine Bottle Cover With Rose

I just really liked making this rose that I made one for this wine bottle cover.  I just love the colors!  One thing you'll notice is that I like to work with a lot of bright and pastel colors.  It can be hard for me to work with darks as I don't seem to understand that palette as much.  I keep working on darks once in a while just to get out of my comfort zone.  Speaking of which, I made another wine bottle cover with very different colors.  I didn't follow the same rose pattern though.  I was trying to make a hibiscus flower and it didn't look good so I frogged this pattern and turned it into a variegated rose.  I apologize I won't be able to share that pattern.  I don't know how I made it.

Dark Wine Bottle Cover With Variegated Rose

So there you have it.  I will share Bethintx1's YouTube tutorial I followed in another post.

How to Make a Wine Bottle Cover

Simple Wine Bottle Cover

Wine bottle covers are very easy to make and take very little time.  Here is the pattern I use to make mine:

WHAT YOU NEED:
-1 skein 4-ply worsted weight yarn (you don't need much) for body
-extra yarn for pom-poms using different colors
-yarn needle
-scissors
-size I 9 crochet hook
-pom-pom maker or just use a couple of your fingers


BODY
Chain 4, Slip Stitch to beginning loop, Chain 2
Double Crochet in center loop 12 times, join with beginning round Double Crochet using Slip Stitch, Chain 2
Double Crochet twice in each stitch around for a total of 24 Double Crochets, join to beginning round Double Crochet using Slip Stitch, Chain 2
Double Crochet into BACK loop in each stitch around for edging, Slip Stitch to beginning  round Double Crochet, Chain 2
For the next 16 turns:
Double Crochet in each stitch around, Slip Stitch to beginning round Double Crochet, Chain 2
To end:
Double Crochet in each stitch around, Slip Stitch to beginning round Double Crochet, tie off and hide tails

DRAWSTRING
Braid 3 strands of yarn to desired length (start with about an arm's length and go from there).  Tie off with only one knot on each end, leaving a little extra undone yarn.  Snake in between every other crochet stitch on the third row down from the body of your wine bottle cover until ends meet.  Make 2 pom-poms that are about 1".  To do that you can either use a pom-pom maker or wrap yarn around your fingers, tie off and cut the loops.  Tie pom-poms to the ends of your drawstring.

Can and Bottle Cozy Tutorial by Bethintx1

A Great Way to Keep your Beer and Soda Cold

Can Cozy

I really have been making a lot of progress with crochet ever since I followed Bethintx1 on YouTube.  In the picture above, you see a can cozy I made by using her tutorial. It's really nice because it is machine washable. Can cozies are one of the simplest things to make.  It was my first time I had ever worked on making a round of any type.  I like to make a lot of things using the ideas of this pattern.  Here are some things I made on my own by altering the pattern a little bit:

Wine Bottle Cover

Yarn Needle Container

The wine bottle covers are really nice.  I just made a bunch of extra rounds and then developed my own drawstring.  I have had some requests for these and I am more than happy to make them.  This is a great gift idea, especially since it will keep chilled wines cold longer.

As for the Yarn Needle Container, I had the idea of sticking all of my tapestry needles in an old pill bottle container.  That way I don't keep losing them.  I thought the bottle needed some spunk from that ugly orange.  I just worked my way up to just the right size for the container.  At the end of my work, I fished through some yarn through the bottle's safety retainer part and tied the whole thing onto the bottle.  Now I know the cover won't just slip off every time I open it for a needle.  I then took a large button and hot glued that into the top.  Then I hot glued some strands of yarn on the edges of the button and put a ribbon flower in the middle.  Not bad for an ugly pill bottle container. 

Mini Ripple Stitch Tutorial from Bethintx1

My Yarn Addiction

Pink Blanket Mini Ripple Stitch

I first learned to crochet when I was around 12 years old.  The only stitch I knew how to do for the past 13 years was the single crochet stitch.  My mother taught me to crochet.  I had a lot of problems with adding and dropping stitches.  I never knew what I was doing wrong and she couldn't tell me.

I was up late one night and wanted to see if someone had a good tutorial on doing something different and fancy looking like granny squares.  I came across a few good tutorials but then found an excellent teacher under the name of Bethintx1 on YouTube.  I didn't end up working on those granny squares because I was already working on a baby blanket around that time.  I had subscribed to Bethintx1's channel so I wouldn't forget who I found that did the great tutorial.  Because I was subscribed, I had seen a lot of neat stuff she had been putting up.  She put up a video on how to do the mini ripple stitch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feh3fDNg8ZY).

I had enough with not being able to do anything other than just a basic single crochet.  I ended up taking a skein of half-used up red heart yarn and learned to do the mini ripple stitch.  I made a table runner as the first thing using this stitch.  It was green in color and I thought it would be a good idea to give it to my parental in laws as a Saint Nick gift.

I was so relieved when I found out I could learn such a cool pattern when I came across the mini ripple stitch.  It brought back my passion for yarn crafts again!  The pink blanket you see above is the second thing I made with the mini ripple stitch.  I wanted to have my own blanket so I made it for myself.  Most things I make I tend to give away but I just liked this one so much.  The picture you will see below is another blanket I made with this stitch.  I made that blanket for our good friends Rebecca and Audrey.  Blankets take forever to make, especially when they are sized for adults!  I had a lot of fun making these as the stitch was fast and changed directions every now and then.

Mini Ripple Stitch Blanket

Still Figuring it Out

I have thought about it and decided to do 2 blogs on here.  I will make this page "Kallista's Creations" for all the craft things and then my other blog called "Tasty Temptations" for recipes.  Please visit my other blog at.http://callistobugfood.blogspot.com/.  Sorry if this confuses any of you.  I just thought it would be easier for everyone to pick out what kind of stuff they want to see rather than having to page down through everything.

Here's to the New Year of 2012

How about a new year's resolution?  My aunt Cyndie originally told me months ago I should let you all see what I've been cooking.  I tried making a blog earlier but had troubles.  Since talking to my friend Hollyanne, she gave me an extra nudge to creating a blog.  We both enjoy talking back and forth on the crafts we are making.  I plan on showing crafts and recipes to you.

A little bit about me to begin with...
I have been constantly learning about food and how to do things with it.  The first time I've ever "cooked" something was I toasted bread when I was four.  Mom made me use moldy bread in case I burned it.  My grandma also had me help her make cookies every now and then.  I used to upset my mother because  I used to get into the spice cabinet and mix a bunch of her spices just to see what I could make.  Needless to say, I wasted so much!  I wasn't always a good cook.  I used to take smarties candies to try and make kool-aid by adding water.  It was disgusting.  I had so many problems with baking chocolate chip cookies and cooking noodles.  I worked on those things over and over and now I have to say I am the master of the two!  Because of my family's honesty in things I've made them food wise, I have become a better cook.  I have thought about going to culinary school but I am reluctant due to many people ending up not enjoying cooking anymore.  I've had experience with food service and have not enjoyed it.  Maybe I could enjoy being a chef if I did a seasonal menu to add some variety and inspire creativity.  I still enjoy cooking at home and creating my own recipes.

As for the arts and crafts, I have loved those from the first time I have done them.  I enjoy just about everything.  My strengths include drawing, painting, crochet and so on and so forth.  I once planned to be an art teacher but have decided that is not the direction I want to go.  I don't like politics and schools have a lot to do with politics.  My mother showed me a lot of basic things with arts and crafts.  We would do stuff like paint flower pots as a family or paint pictures on canvas.  My mother is left handed and she showed me how to do a single crochet stitch when I was around 12 years old.  I'm right handed.  I got so upset and almost gave up on doing single crochet.  It was so hard for me to figure out how to flip what I was seeing from my mom.  Crocheting is one of the easiest things to do.  I plan on learning to knit and shuttle tatting in the future.  Those look like a lot of fun.  I know it's strange that most people stick to either just knitting or just crocheting.  Each side tends to be kind of scared to try the other.

I have seen some wonderful video tutorials on youtube to do all sorts of yarn crafts.  It wasn't until a few months ago that I learned how to be a better crocheter.  I considered myself as a beginner before.  Yes, a beginner for like 13 years!  Now I'm making my own pattern.  I can't wait to show what big project I'm doing right now!  I recently got my dream crochet hooks.  They are the Susan Bates Bamboo Handle ones.  My hands don't cramp at all now.  This set will last me a lifetime as I could use it when I get arthritis.  I decided my big project is to make a way to organize some of my crochet tools.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my projects and random rants to come!