Dishcloths and scrubbies

I took a break from crocheting pillows and went back to dishcloths for awhile,

trying to decide on something fun to make next that wasn't a pillow.

But then I discovered scrubby yarn and got distracted.

Scrubby yarn is not for sissies, unless said sissy has better than 20/20 vision.

Lordy, this stuff can be hard to work with. 

I happened upon a tip sheet before starting my first scrubby, which suggested

pairing it with cotton yarn so that you could see the stitches. Totally works.

My first attempts have passed the get-the-dried-egg-off-the-dish test,

so I'll bundle a couple of these with a couple of almost-color-coordinated dishcloths

as the prize for the guess-the-expiration-date-on-the-parsley-flakes contest

announced yesterday. A run-on sentence with 15 hyphens. That may be a record for me. 

Submit your guess in the comments of yesterday's post by 7 mountain time tonight

if you want to play along.

As for the post-pillow, next big crochet project, there is a blanket in the works:

I'm using the same stitch that I use for the dishcloths and scrubbies, except on a much larger scale.

Saturday encore ~ Crocheting with a cat on my lap

Posted originally in April 2016

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More pillow talk

My yarn and crocheting addiction appears to be getting worse.

 

A new shipment of yarn has arrived.

I have assured Smooch that my habit will not encroach upon our daily walks, though
her demands to be let outside are now often answered with "hang on...just one more row."

I've found this Lion Brand Homespun yarn to be perfect for bobble-stitch pillows

(and they're not paying me to say that, though maybe they should if I keep ordering it at this rate).

It's feathery soft and silky, has all kinds of texture, is machine-washable...

...and comes in 81 colors!
Be still my heart.

If these pillows are looking a little flat, it's because I've yet to stuff them.

I will be taking them with me to Florida in a few weeks to give to family, friends and 

the saints who help take care of my mom. I figure it makes more sense to finish them there

than to check a trunk on the plane.

These two live at the new Morning Bray Farm in Virginia.

Seeing my pillows in use makes me very happy.

I sent this one home with Danni to Oregon. 

Looks like I may have to send her another if Roxy isn't willing to share.

I love everything about crocheting these pillows. They're relatively quick to make,

(8 to 10 hours, I think) so I don't get bored, and I can work on them

in warm weather without dying of heatstroke under a big pile of yarn.

I did venture out of my pillow comfort zone to make this pair of baby flip-flops.

The baby came over for a visit earlier this week. She left with the flip-flops,

her parents left with – you guessed it – a pillow. 

(Her 2-year-old brother left with a cow bone. Who was the happiest? Hard to say.)

I need to get serious about finding a practical way to distribute and/or sell these things.

I've thought about an Etsy shop, but then I think about trips to the post office

and how any income would mess up my taxes, and then I go right back to

forcing them into the hands of anyone who dares to visit.

Who wants to worry about all of that when I can just sit in my corner and crochet?

Crocheting with a cat in my lap

Pillow talk

If a day goes by when you don't see a new post here, 

it's because of this:

At what point does a casual hobby become an addiction?

I may have crossed the line.

Maybe when the summer rolls around and it gets too hot,
I'll be able to stop. 

Who am I kidding?
There might be big discounts on yarn then

to feed my addiction.

You will know that it has gotten out of hand

when I get a couple of sheep.

Riding out the storm

As much as I was hoping the blizzard would bypass the 7MSN, it did not.

The snow started late Saturday morning.

There was nothing left to do but watch it from the snowroom and crochet.

You can build a horse a barn, but you can't make him stand in it. 

What a knucklehead.

You can lead a horse to heated water, but you can't make him drink it.

Yes, I'm talking about you.

This is George the moment he realizes it's feeding time again.

This is Alan the moment the snow starts blowing into his face again.

Fifteen and a half inches of snow fell by Saturday morning,

then it snowed most of Sunday. I elected not to measure it again.

It would only make me worry about how and when I'll be able to get out of here.

I've been trying to keep up with the shoveling so that it doesn't get overwhelming.

Every couple of hours, I clear a path to the barn, scoop poop, feed, water, 

then come back inside to thaw out.

Snowstorms do wonders for my crocheting productivity. 

Auntie Em, your pillow is done and one of these days I'll be able to mail it.

A blanket of many colors

I wanted to use up my growing collection of leftover yarn, 

and JohnnyCashCat wanted a blanket of his own.

The solution was obvious, though I questioned how ugly the technicolor result might be.

One can only hope that the feral beast is color-blind.

Smooch: That is one ugly blanket. Matches his personality.

George: I'd wear a saddle just to cover it up.

JCC: For me? Really?

JCC: Come back and tuck me in around 10.

Keep calm and crochet on

About a month ago, I showed you a video in which I was crocheting a baby afghan...

while drinking a glass of red wine. My innocuous pastime caused a bit of a stir 

as a few of you speculated that: 1) I would spill wine all over the afghan before it was done 

and 2) I must be having a baby. May I just say you were wrong on both counts, 

though 1) was a definite possibility and 2) was unfathomable. Hello, I'm almost 61 and don't like most children.

Anyway, during all the high drama of the past few weeks, crocheting has been my go-to stress relief.

I finished the baby afghan and then some. (Please note the absence of any red wine stains.)

Ethel is not having a baby either, though the wife of her son (Ethelette #2) is.

The afghan was finished before the drama was, so then I made a pillow cover.

And then I started looking up crochet patterns and tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube

and now I've turned into a crocheting monster.

This will be another pillow cover. I love this stitch because it has so much texture.

Would you like one for your home? Let's have a contest.

Leave a comment on this post to enter a random drawing for a crocheted-by-Carson

pillow cover, in the colors of the winner's choosing (wine stains not included).

Contest closes Thursday at 7 p.m. Mountain time.

Winner will be announced in Friday's post.

In between pillow covers, I will be making JohnnyCashCat an afghan 

because Smooch refuses to share hers.