Yarn Addict Archives - Page 3 of 5

Craft Day: All About Finishing

By Christina Lee| September 22nd, 2018|Craft Day, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Knitting, Oh My Crafts!, Work Hard. Play Hard. Knit Harder., Yarn Addict|

Today’s Craft Day is all about finishing! Over the last couple of month, I’ve accumulated enough crafting supplies to last me another decade or so. I’ve got skeins of yarn pouring out of boxes, knitting needles of every size and stitch markers between the couch cushions. With all those supplies, it’s hard not to start a new project. In fact, I think I’ve started more projects than I can even count on my two hands and I don’t think I’ve finished even one. Yikes, it’s time to get cracking… starting with picking up this baby.

Sadly, I started this cable knitted scarf in January 2017 and made some good progress as I was learning a new technique. For some reason, this fell by the wayside, and sat and sat, season after season. That reason was probably because it required a fair amount of concentration to relearn how to cable knit, lots of counting and the ability to use a separate hook to do the cable knitting — all of which detracted from the usual knitting and wine drinking regimen on the couch. At least I’m being honest, right?

Nonetheless, I’m glad I picked this project back up. It’s amazing how a cable knitted pattern produces such a rich, woven texture. Paired with a thick wool-like yarn and bright colors, the braided ropes really pop. All it takes is a little bit of patience and some practice. Want to learn how to cable knit? Here is a step-by-step tutorial with visuals on how to knit a cable.

Don’t Get Too Cozy Now

By Christina Lee| August 6th, 2018|Crocheting, Handmade, Yarn Addict|

I just learned how to crochet the star stitch pattern and recently made a few dish towels for the kitchen. They turned out pretty well, so I thought I’d continue to ride that wave and make some coffee cozies to get an early start on holiday crafts. Typically, I follow a new pattern to the T, however I thought I’d get a little creative after mastering the star stitch.

When making coffee cozies for a mug or a recyclable cup, it’s good to make sure they’re snug so they don’t slip off, especially if your cup doesn’t have any handles. Obviously you’ll notice many mugs slim down in size the further down you go. I wish that were true for the female anatomy! So instead of ending the row with a half double crochet, you can end with a single crochet and the bottom part of your coffee cozy will decrease in size.

Once you size the sleeve to the mug of your choice, there are several ways you can finish off the cozy. One easy way is to crochet both ends together and circle the edges with one round of single crochet to even out the shape. Another way that’s super easy, but just a tad bit fancier is sewing on a button and creating a loop (using chains) that either goes through or above the handle. This requires some measuring and a few attempts to size the loop so that it hugs the button snugly.

Making coffee cozies are quick crochet projects that you can do in one sitting and it’s easy to get carried away with the small details. It’s likely you’ll end up making more than just one — especially if your friends catch a glimpse of these. They also make good Christmas presents. To go the extra mile, consider topping it off with hot cocoa and chocolate dipped spoons, or a few bags of your favorite loose leaf tea and maybe even some honey. Your friends and family are going to love you!

Star Stitch Crocheted Dish Towels

By Christina Lee| July 22nd, 2018|Crocheting, DIY Home, Handmade, Yarn Addict|

If these star stitched crocheted dish towels don’t motivate you to clean then I don’t know what will. Hopefully Spring cleaning wasn’t the last time you touched a dish towel. If it is, then you and your dish towels are long overdue for a kitchen scrub down. Inspired by a new crochet pattern I learned from YouTube, I decided to add a little splash of color into my kitchen. Summer shades of green, yellow and blue make the kitchen pop in a sea of brown cabinets, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. The star stitch pattern itself is an easy pattern to learn. It’s repeatable and it takes two rows to complete the star configuration, so you can swap out different colors of yarn pretty fluidly in between rows. It might seem intimidating at first if you’re not used to creating multiple loops in one stitch, but if you can get a few of these under your belt and you know how to do a half double crochet, then this is a great pattern to use to make dish towels. It’s a beautiful stitch and it creates a thick, plushy texture that’s good for scrubbing counter tops or wiping down a glass of spilled milk. And adding that hook in the upper corner makes it convenient to hang in your kitchen cabinet.

Knitting on the Go

By Christina Lee| March 3rd, 2018|Handmade, Knitting, Work Hard. Play Hard. Knit Harder., Yarn Addict|

I’m due for another business trip and that means over 24 hours of travel (15 hours of flying on one airline, a layover and 4 hours on another). With all this time on the plane, what am I going to do with myself? It looks like I am going to have ample time to get cozy, watch a couple of movies and begin my knitting marathon. Lucky for me, there is no shortage of yarn in my closet from all my trips to Michaels!

Most of the patterns that I’ve knitted in the past couple of months have been over ten lines long with lots of counting and tallying. The patterns themselves aren’t challenging, but there’s as lot to keep track of and count. This time around, I decided to go with the “Eyelet Ribbed” pattern, which is only six lines and more manageable for traveling. If you can knit, purl, yarn over and purl two together, then it’s relatively easy. I like this pattern because it’s simple, doesn’t have too much counting and you end up with these beautiful column ridges at every other stitch along with these cute little peepholes. I also think this pattern goes well this spring colored yarn.

Well, off to my next flight!

Father’s Day BLT Sandwich for Dad

By Christina Lee| June 18th, 2017|Amigurumi, Crocheting, Handmade, Holiday Fun, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

For years, I’ve been racking my mind coming up ways to say thank you to dad, and show my love and appreciation. Well after gifting him razors, ties, shoes and other miscellaneous gadgets, my most successful gifts on top of a heartfelt thanks has always been food, the key to my dad’s heart. Whether it’s going out to lunch in Sausalito, picking up a gourmet burger, whipping up something from Food Network or just having a backyard barbecue, sharing a meal and bonding over food has always brought us closer together (Cooper included!).

While I have found a way to make my Dad happy, these meals do not come without consequence. Enter Mom with the warning label that we shouldn’t be eating this or that, and we should all be on a diet even on holidays (!)

Well this time around, Mom and Dad both have nothing to complain about with this BLT sandwich. The bacon, lettuce and tomato all come prepared with zero calories.

Post Father’s Day Update:
By the way, Susanna and I did take our dad out for no guilt burgers and sandwiches.

Happy Father’s Day to you, Dad and all the fathers out there!

That Time I Fought Cooper for the Chair and He Won

By Christina Lee| May 28th, 2017|Knitting, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

Whether we’re on vacation or at home, Cooper and I both have eyes for that chair. Yes, the chair that has a floor lamp perfectly positioned behind it, curtains drawn to block the sun and a balcony overlooking the beach. He’s got good taste (which he probably gets from Mom) and a stubborn determination to ‘share’ if he can’t have that entire seat to himself. Lucky for him, this chair can conveniently seat two — a girl and her ‘crazy’ dog.

Well now that we’re cozy, I finally get to pick up those knitting needles and work on my first knitted blanket. Thus far, I’ve crocheted two blankets and I thought it’d be neat to knit one this time around. Don’t let the rounded knitting needles deceive you. While I had cast on over 220 stitches onto rounded knitting needles that span 36 inches, what appears to be this miniature chevron bundle will soon be a full-sized throw that’s cozy and warm for your couch or bed. I’ve got a long way to go, so I’ll be zigzagging my way across this row with this medium gray yarn, while enjoying the view and working in a few belly rubs.

This is vacation. This is love.

Happiness is a Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

By Christina Lee| April 11th, 2017|Crocheting, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Yarn Addict|

As the saying goes, “Happiness is a cup of coffee and a good book” and now, I won’t dare get a cup of coffee without dressing it up with these cozies. These stylish companions for your morning cup of joe will not only keep your coffee warm and help you save the environment by steering clear of the cardboard sleeves, but it will make other people envy your super cute, stylin’ coffee cup.

Did I mention that these crocheted coffee cozies are a new addition to my website? I’m thrilled to finally be featuring them online. They are fun and easy to make in one sitting. If you know how to single crochet in the round, then you’re golden. And if you’re new to crocheting, this is one of those ‘feel good’ projects you can complete in a timely manner, put a bow tie around and gift it to a friend or keep it for yourself.

Once you finish crocheting in the round, you can swing by Michael’s or Jo-Ann Fabrics to pick up some of these cute buttons and put the finishing touches on your coffee cozy.

Christmas in February

By Christina Lee| February 26th, 2017|Crocheting, DIY Home, Handmade, Holiday Fun, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Yarn Addict|

Well, we finally did it, Cooper. We put the finishing touches on this blanket and now, Susanna can take home her Christmas present even though it’s now February. Way to sit on it for so long, Cooper!

The idea was to plan ahead for once and start this blanket in October, so I can pair this blanket with the one I’m giving Mom and Dad for Christmas and surprise Susanna with her very own. However, I think I was a bit too ambitious finishing up the other blanket, working on two scarves and then starting on this one. The other projects were also a bit more taxing since I had to constantly read the pattern and tally up each row. So, I decided to give myself a little break and work on this Granny Row crochet pattern – a simple combination of double crochets and skipping spaces – one that I can actually do while watching television and sipping on some red wine.

For the next couple of weeks — and months, this blanket and Netflix became my best friend in the evenings. I started the blanket completing rows of two with each color only to realize that A) I still had a lot more rows to complete and B) two rows of a single color wasn’t going to get me very far, so I began differentiating the count and varying the width to three rows, then five rows and back three rows of one color. The most exciting part was switching to the next color, especially the light purple in the middle. And since we’re in nearing winter, the faster I completed a row, the warmer I got to keep my legs — one advantage of working on this blanket during the winter season.

While I didn’t end up finishing it for Christmas, I was about 90 percent of the way there – close enough to wrap it in a box and gift it to Susanna for Christmas. The look on her face was the most gratifying for me especially since she did not expect a blanket for herself after spending nearly a decade on Mom and Dad’s. But here it is, a blanket just for her in the nick of time to keep her warm this wet and rainy, winter season. Merry Christmas, Susanna. Here’s to keeping the spirit of Christmas alive in February.

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