Here are my latest baby hats that I crocheted for the local hospital nursery. This will probably be my last batch as the weather is warming up and I will be doing other items for them.
First are two newborn baby hats that feature a scalloped edging. This edging is easy and fun to add to any baby hat. Here is the free crochet pattern for the scalloped baby hat.
Next are some ribbed band baby hats. First is the single post newborn hat pattern.
I thing that I did do differently than the original pattern as written is that I crocheted them seamless. I have been playing around with this idea for awhile. I begin the hat by
I crocheted a new pattern for a blanket for the Veteran’s Outreach Program. It is a stitch sampler pattern that uses a different stitch every row. I really love the center panel as it just has such a pretty design.
I did do some light blocking on the center panel to get it to lay down flat. It wanted to cup at the center but now as shown in the photo, it blocked out nicely.
The free crochet pattern for the stitch sampler blanket is found here at Canoe Mtn Designs. It is a pretty pattern that is written well and has good resources to show the different unique stitches used in the pattern.
Here is a photo of my completed blanket which I was only able to crochet through row 47 as I ran out of yarn.
This month marks the 18th year of my blogging here at My Recycled Bags. You can read my first blog entries here from January 2007. In 2007 is when I began this blog site and started sharing about crafting and recycling plastic bags and other recycled materials.
So after 18 years, I am still here though I don’t post as much as I used to. I do still offer all my patterns for free and am willing to help out anyone who has questions about crafting with plastic bags or other materials. Share a comment below
Here is my last hat I crocheted for 2024 for Warmth for Warriors. It is a basketweave hat pattern by Breann Mauldin. This easy crochet pattern features a basketweave brim that works up into a good looking hat.
The only changes I did do was add one additional round before starting the basketweave brim portion of the hat. I wanted a little larger hat and this is a good way to do that. I also do count the chain-2 as a stitch throughout as I think it looks better for the basketweave to keep the stitches even in appearance.
Using an H (5 mm) crochet hook, my hat is an XL adult size measuring 22.5 inches around by 9 inches long. A nice roomy size for one of our Veterans to receive this winter to keep warm.
Here is the pattern link to the
Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas! May your hearts and homes be filled with love and peace this holiday season. And may you have many blessings in the New Year.
I tried out a new mini Christmas stocking pattern. The Alpine Christmas stocking pattern features 4 different sizes you can crochet. The jumbo stocking is about 22 inches long and the sizes go down to the mini stocking which is about 6 inches long. The mini size is perfect for the Warmth for Warriors stockings that I crochet each year.
Here is the first little stocking I crocheted using the mini stocking directions.
This stocking is a bit wonky as the red yarn was very thin and the white yarn was much thicker but it still turned out to be a cute stocking. Plus I learned and got better with the Alpine stitch as I worked through this stocking.
Once I figured out the specialized stitch, I moved on to another stocking and used yarn that was of equal thickness. This green mini stocking turned out much better looking and I think I have crocheted the Alpine stitch pattern more actually now. I also crocheted the toe in the same color as the main stocking which I thought looked better. Check out the photo below and let me know what you think?
I had the opportunity to participate this year in Operation Christmas Child. Shoeboxes are filled with toys, school supplies, and personal care items for children for Christmas. The boxes are sent all around the world to many different places to bless the children and share the gospel.
Our women’s bible study got together and filled 53 boxes this year. Many of us made handmade gifts as well as store-bought goodies to fill the boxes. I crocheted two teddy bear dolls. Here is my girly bear with a skirt that I crocheted. The skirt crochet pattern for this doll is found here.
Next photo is of my bare bear doll. These bare or PJ bears are fun and quick to crochet.They make some cute teddy bear dolls for children.
When a crocheter dies they many times leave behind a unfinished project. Often family who find the project(s) don’t know how to go about finishing the item. Sometimes you see these things at thrift stores or estate sales. I am always sad when see them and wonder about the crafter who left behind some work of theirs in progress.
I recently was given a big tote with lots of yarn from a friend’s relative that had passed away. Inside the tote, I found this partially finished crochet project. All the yarn was in a bag with even the crochet hook still attached to the project. It looked like a scarf and it was in a basic double crochet stitch which I could easily identify.
So I set off to finish up this project. I call this honor crocheting as I am honoring the person who started it by finishing their project for which they left behind when they died. I am not positive that she was crocheting a scarf but it was easy for me to finish it and honor her work. Here is the finished scarf below.
Halloween time seems like a good time to share my mutant potatoes. These strange and scary potatoes were grown in my garden this year. I was so surprised when I dug them up and discovered how they had grown into these strange-looking shapes.
I found out that these potatoes were stressed and that is what caused them to grow so strangely. There is a good article here about the reasons and how to avoid this from happening. Apparently lack of rain, hot weather and not enough watering are the main reasons that you can end up with potatoes looking like these do.
When this happens your harvest will be much smaller as the potatoes didn’t grow and spread out like they should have. When the potatoes are dry for too long, it causes
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