Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Tulip Doily

I made this in 2007 for a gift.

Autumn Leaf Afghan

I recently made this afghan for a benefit auction.

Prize-winning Afghan

This afghan took me a few years to complete because I worked on it in-between other projects, but I finished it this year and it won first prize in the miscellaneous afghan category at the local county fair! I made this afghan with Red Heart yarn (dark green, sage green, white), using a size J hook. The pattern called for joining the strips with a whipstitch, and I usually don't like assembling afghans with the whipstitch because I feel that it creates tension in places where you don't want it. I used a reverse slip stitch to join. I'm pleased with the final product and couldn't be happier about winning first prize! I'm already thinking about what I might submit next year!

Pattern: "Around We Go!" p. 40. mile-a-minute Afghans. 1996, Leisure Arts.

Angel

I recently made this for someone special in my life (ignore the date on the pic, forgot to update it before taking the picture). This is the first time I've made something quite like this, and I'm really pleased with the way it came out. The crochet part of the project and pinning/starching was not unlike most other doily-type things I've crocheted in the past, it was the rest of it that was new to me. I used a styro-foam ball to provide shape for the head, but the torso and puffed sleeves were done by starching around a styro-foam ball that is then removed afterwards. Strategic sewing and gluing helped put everything else in the right place, including the white fabric lining the skirt. My Mom helped me with the final assembly of the angel, and my husband put the finishing touches on the eyes - he has a much steadier hand than I!


Pattern used: "Michelle" (Dolls & Toys #9) Vanna's Afghan & Crochet Favorites (1995, Oxmoor House).