Reversible Crochet Hat

Okay, short and sweet. This hat is very warm. Super easy and it doesn't take long at all. You can wear it inside out if you want. It still looks nice either way. So here it is. 

 Right side out.

Wrong side out.

I didn't really write down every stitch I made. I just kind of went with it, then I decided I wanted to blog it. I will try to write it out correctly though. 

CH 10, turn.

Row 1: HDC in 3rd CH from hook and in each CH across, CH 2, turn.

Row 2: HDC in back loops across, CH 2, turn.

Row 3: HDC in front loops across, CH 2, turn.

Row 4 - ?: Repeat rows 2 & 3 until desired length, SLST to form a round.

This is the band of the hat. The main body of the hat will be crocheted in a round, then stitched shut at the end. 

Main Body:

SC evenly along the side of the band, CH 2. DO NOT TURN. 

*HDC in first 3 sts, FP-HDC in next st.* Repeat around until hat is at an appropriate length for your head.

Each FP-HDC should be made on top of the one in the previous row. 

Squish your tube in half and SLST in one st, you should have two tubes now.

SLST your tube shut until there is no more gaping hole. ENJOY!

Like I said, I just winged it. The hat doesn't have to be perfect. If you're concerned about the math, well, then do it for me! 

Crochet Headband

Yep, I crocheted a headband. A friend has been wanting me to make her some for the past two months as Christmas gifts. It took me about 2 days to finish everything. I mean finish ONE headband. It looks nice though. :)

I got the idea from Cindy Abel. I was pinteresting, saw the same thing OVER & OVER & OVER AGAIN! UGH! Pinterest, that truely is your fault.

 So I said, "Screw you pinterest, you suck right now." 

I headed over to google. Eh.

Bing. Alright. 

Scrolling 

and 

scrolling. 

Nothing. 

Images...yes. 

Brilliant!

I found what I was looking for! Well, somewhat. I was really wanting something with lace. I've been in an elegant lace mood, so much of a mood I decided to have a "Lot's of Lace" theme for my future wedding. If there ever will be one. A girl can dream , right?

So anyway, I clicked the picture, went to the website, then I gasped. DIRECTIONS! FREE PATTERN! AWESOME!

To make it even better, my grandpa cleaned out my great aunts yarn hoard stash. Stuffed it all into garbage bags and tossed it outside. I obviously tiptoed over and snatched all that yarn up! There were spiders and bugs all over it but yarn is just so expensive. It would have been heart break to see it all go to waste. 

In all that yarn mess, I found 5 things of Aunt Lydia's crochet thread....size 10. In a ton of different colors. No white, wish there was though. I found some teeny tiny hooks too! I used some creme color. 

This is what I made with my new find....

I have to make four more of these bad girls. Then another one for myself!  So cute! I love headbands! Especially when I just don't give a poo poo. 

If you can crochet, go to Cindy Abel's website and make this. The hand sewing was the most difficult part, just because I really don't like it! 

If you can't crochet, never fear. Go to your fabric store, they have a bunch of lace you can buy. I discovered this when I was picking up my knit fabric for my headband. I was kind of appalled. I mean really?! People pay that for lace?! It's so pretty, but it has a better meaning if you just make it yourself. 

Go on, git to it. Make something!

Magic Spot Remover?

Alright. So I was Pinteresting again. Whatever. It's not like I'm addicted to it or anything...

I found this pin that claims this magic carpet stain remover stuff works. Okay. I'll give it a try. I'll give ANYTHING  a try! My carpet has been around since I was 7 okay...it's probably pushing 15 years even! So of course it had it's share of traffic, spills, and just plain ol' neglect.

I probably shouldn't post any pictures...it's bad. Super bad.

There is only a select few stains that I can say I know how it got there.

But anyway! Lets give this a try. This website says:

1 part BLUE DAWN DISH SOAP

2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide

Yeah well I know from experience that Dawn stuff gets stains out of my close like a champ! I also know that Hydrogen Peroxide is used to get out icky germs and also whiten your teeth/clothes.

I'm nervous. My carpet is blue-gray. Will this bleach my carpet?! Better try it to find out. The only way I'm going to find out is from experience right? I doubt it will... *nervous face*

Okay here we go....

Step 1: Mix up Dawn dish soap and Hydrogen Peroxide.

Most of it is bubbles....

Step 2: Locate stupid stain.

Step 3: Spray stain with solution.

Step 4: Dab and rub.

Step 5: Vacuum and let it dry.

Alright, so I guess it works on stains that are easy to come up. But when it comes to the candle wax stain...it doesn't work.

Yes, I did say candle wax stain. About a year and a half ago I was wanting to relax. So I lit some candles and shut off the lights and relaxed. Well, I set 4 small RED candles on the end of my bed (It's really a futon and the end of my bed is what would be the arm rests if it were in it's futon/couch position.) and I was fixing my comforter then BAM! all 4 candles fell onto the carpet spilling its evil red wax everywhere.

So much for relaxing. Stupid mother licker! (That is what I say when I'm frustrated...don't judge.) In my panic I googled how to get candle wax out of carpet. You tube gave me some results that worked great. I found this video tutorial and I followed it. It worked. Got the wax out, but LEFT THE STUPID RED COLORING!

You can even see part of the stain in some of the above photos. It is so aggravating! 

Well I sprayed it. A lot. Some color came up but not all. So I guess this stuff works on the stains like "I spilled my juice and didn't know then walked on it a million times now there's this brown spot on my carpet." but it doesn't work on stains that are literally stains. Like dye. That stuff will not come out. I know that I will NEVER buy a colored candle again.

 In fact, I will make my own candles. It is stupid how I can't go to the store and buy my favorite scented candle without it being purple. Why does the color have to match the scent? Who wrote that rule? Fine. I will buy my own WHITE wax, my own scent oil, and make my own candle. If I accomplish this next project, I will definitely blog about it. Blog, blog, blog. Things throughout my day. Pretty much. 

Any suggestions on my ridiculous situation, PLEASE comment nicely because this subject already makes me grumpy.

Crochet Baby Blanket

So, I'm getting older. Friends around me are constantly getting married or popping little ones out. It's crazy! I'm too young for this! But it's happening and I must cope with it. 

Baby showers are the thing right now. The way I see it is one gift should be handmade. It is so simple to go to Walmart and throw some baby crap in a basket and get it over with, but come on. Have a heart. Your friend is having a baby and is excited for their new addition. Your friend will be even more excited to know that you're excited too! Even if you're not excited, just make something anyway. Like I said, have a heart. 

I crochet a lot. I've been doing it since I was 7 years old. It's just a hobby that I enjoy even though it's "weird" for a 20 year old to be doing what old women do. I find it cool that I can make things. Hats, slippers, scarves, blankets, etc. It is time consuming but the end product makes me feel so accomplished. I like that, feeling accomplished. Everyone should feel that way once in a while! 

That being said, it's obvious I'm going to crochet something for this little baby. And its obvious its going to be a baby blanket. I love making little blankets! They go by so fast and it makes me feel accomplished more often!

I googled "Crochet Baby Blanket" and it gave me its googly list of crap. But mixed into that crap I found this cute "unique" looking baby blanket. Okay it's really not unique looking, but hey, whatever floats her boat.

On YouTube I found this video tutorial by Yolanda Soto Lopez. In it she shows you how to make this blanket that I absolutely love. It's not hard to make. It's so easy I was actually bored. The only reason why I kept on going is because of how fast this blanket was coming along. With all the time I spent making it, I completed it within about 20 hours. Fast, right? 

The baby I was making this for is a boy. The mother to be has this crazy animal theme with all these vibrant colors and zebra stripes. Well, I can't crochet zebra stripes. The day I figure it out I'll let you know. Promise. So I picked out the bluest of the baby blues I could find at JoAnn Fabrics. I purchased Lion Brand's Pound of Love baby yarn in turquoise. If this is the yarn you want to make your baby blanket with, you can buy it online here, or go to JoAnn's and see if they have it.

I used a size J 6.00mm crochet hook (My hook was blue too, but that was a coincidence.) 

In the video, Yolanda says to just chain in increments of 3. So that's what I did. I really didn't know how long it should be so I guessed. I crocheted about 42 increments of 3 giving me a total of 126 chains. I regretted having 42 increments so next time I will have only 40 (120 chains). Now for rows, I had 41. I really regretted having 41 rows and next time I will only have 40. The reason I regretted that row and those extra two increments is because there is a border around the blanket. I ran out of yarn on the last stretch of the blankets border! UGH! I sure as hell wasn't going to go back to JoAnn's and buy another pound of yarn!  So, I had to improvise and I eventually made it work. 

I asked mommy to be if she wanted the white around the border (I knew she wouldn't.) and she said no, black please. (Black, for a baby? Okay...) so I went to Walmart and purchased Caron Simply Soft in black. I only needed a little bit so I actually contemplated pulling out just enough to get around the border, cutting it, and stuffing it into by bag, but I'm pretty sure my conscience would have eaten me alive if I did that. So now I basically have a whole skein of yarn left over. I'll probably make a hat or something. Who knows? 

 It is a bit large for a baby blanket, but too small to be a throw.

Anyway, I completed the blanket with a black Picot stitch and it looks super cute. Very modern actually! I'm actually excited to make another one for my pregnant best friend! All in all, Yolanda does a great job teaching us this pattern. It's perfect for crochet beginners and it's perfect for making mommy to be a homemade blanket. She'll appreciate it. Trust me. Someone go make this blanket and tell me how you did. Also, I want to see what it looks like! 

This is how I would give the blanket as a gift. I'd even tie a cute ribbon around it with the ribbon fed through a button then finished with a bow. I didn't have any on hand but you get the idea, kind of.