Has Me In Stitches

I got the idea for these from a picture I saw of the penguin pillow on Pinterest.  There was no pattern, so I had to come up with my own.  I started with this basic flat circle pattern using double crochet instead of single.  I found 14" round pillow forms at Joann Fabrics and made 2 circles the size to fit the form. I had to get creative for the other parts; modified triangles for the penguin's arms and beak, a half circle for Elmo's mouth, and I can't begin to explain how I made the elephant's trunk and ears.  But I love how they turned out!

I'm a sucker for a bargain.  Put a sale sign up or mark something with a red clearance tag and I'm all over it!  Better yet - give something away for free!  AllFreeCrochet.com is doing just that!  Enter to win Magenta(ish) Stitch.Rock.Love Sheep(ish) Vickie Howell Yarn for Caron. 

My daughter's boyfriend wanted a blanket. I let him pick out the colors and the pattern. He chose a basket weave design in 4-colored squares. I have to admit, when I first got started on this labor of love (it took about 2 months to finish), I had serious doubts. The colors reminded me of the Partridge Family bus from my childhood. I was struggling with the design - which colors to put together, whether I wanted to make vertical rows or diagonal rows of the same colors, etc. - but Shayne made it clear that he wanted the final pattern to be completely random. Being the type A person that I am, even that concept had me nervous! Now that it's completed, though, I have to give credit to Shayne. Somehow the colors worked. Somehow that randomness found it's way into the final product. Even my dog Dublin liked the way it turned out. :) This blanket is a total of 40 completed 8" x 8" squares. I used Loops & Threads "Charisma - Basic Bulky" acry...

A friend found this great lazy Susan for us at a garage sale. We have a large, square, pub-style dining room table and this fits perfectly in the center. But I don't like the light oak color on top of the darker wood of the table. Eventually I will stain it... In the meantime, I whipped up this doily using an H crochet hook and a skein of Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in Claret. I used a slightly modified version of this pattern .

A hat I made for my teenage daughter.