That 70s Pillow

Moss Stitch with Chunky Off White Cozy Wool from +Michaels. Every 3rd row in a variegated Chunky yarn. Goose Down Insert (Thank you for existing +Tuesday Morning). Super comfy 70's looking pillow.

My Most Favourite Slippers Ever! The Hobbit Slipper.

I'm hoping to have the pattern available on Ravelry by January 26th. I'll announce it on my blog once it's up. Follow my blog via Bloglovin or by email for a notification once it's available for download.

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Very Last Minute Stocking Stuffers! Neck Warmers

Each neck warmer only took around 45 minutes each start to finish. Perfect as a last minute stocking enhancer! Merry Christmas everybody!

I'm in Awe: Fibre Bubbles

Alejandro Sales of  Barcelona is credited for this amazing installation. It's hard to find the original post as it's been re-blogged- re-pinned and re-posted many times over. From what little information is out there, these balls are made of wire. It's hard to tell if they are crocheted or not. All I know, is I can't wait to start experimenting to see whether I can come up with some of my own ethereal beauty. If anyone can shed more light on this incredible artist and his work, your comments would be much appreciated. 

You've got to be joking...wait a minute, you're not!

A Couple of Nuggets From The Ugly Christmas Sweater Blog 

Google Creopalka sweaters "images" for even more awesomeness.

Guaranteed to cause pain in the ass for the pain in the ass on your Christmas list. 

Crocheting With Twine

Crocheting with twine is a finger work out that's worth it. You can make amazingly simple yet beautiful containers that are also functional. The examples shown below are all single crochet. You start by creating a flat round for the bottom and then discontinue any increases and work in rounds of the same number of stitches until you reach the desired height. I use three in my bathroom to organize toiletries and another larger one for crochet projects in progress.

Hemp Twine

I love the look of the light shining through the holes and the fuzziness of the twine. It kind of reminds me of some kind of sea anemone. I'm not sure what it is made of. I picked up a giant spool of it from Home Depot for around $12.00

I never managed to get the uniformity I've seen on pinterest and such. I'm guessing it's because I didn't use crafting hemp skeins which to my mind were exorbitantly priced. My hemp twine came from a small garden shop for $4 a pop, a fraction of the price of Michael's offerings. It varies quite a bit in terms of size of string, hence the variations in the finished project. Definitely go with a craft specific hemp if you are after a more polished look. 

More T-Shirt Yarn Pics

T-Shirt Yarn

The second example is purely crocheting T-Shirt yarn. The other examples are T-Shirt yarn that is essentially wrapped and held together by a simple crochet stitch. As mentioned in an earlier approach, I discovered this technique on a Russian website (see post Olga from Odessa). For this couch cover, I used scraps of both regular yarn and T-Shirt yarn to create a much softer fabric than can be had by using T-Shirt yarn alone. The pillow in the picture is purely single crochet with a border, again using scraps of yarn. 

At some point I started to use super bulky yarn as a replacement for the T-Shirt yarn which created an incredibly soft fabric that I have used to create pillow covers and would also be perfect for a small blanket or scarf. I will post pics of this approach soon. 

Crocheting T-Shirt yarn (rather than wrapping with a lighter weight yarn) creates a very  dense finished product suitable for a rug. It would also make an awesome doormat perhaps crocheted as a no space, giant granny square. 

Malabrigo

Ooooh, Malabrigo!

I'm addicted to this merino yarn from Uruguay. Super bulky Rasta Yarn, works up fast and beautifully. It is minimally felted already which may be the secret to it's amazing texture.

+malabrigo yarn 

Here it is in Laguna Negra #864

It took one skein to make this cowl that's kind-of-sort-of the moss stitch, worked as a continuous mobius loop.

Piedras #862

Oxido #860

Porrinho #864

Thank you Olga from Odessa! Stunning Rugs made by crocheting around scraps of cloth (I used T-Shirt Yarn for mine)

Thank you Olga from Odessa! This picture has been reposted all over the web but the original source is rarely cited. Olga's website http://www.olinohobby.com/2013/02/crochet-rug-from-t-shirts-and-yarn.html . These beauty's were the inspiration behind my ventures into working with T-Shirt yarn projects. Apparently it is an old tradition to make rugs out of scraps of fabric and yarns in Russia. Olga's colour's are some of the best I've seen. More and more examples of this kind of work are popping up all of the time as it catches on in North America.

T-Shirt Yarn Madness!

Old T-Shirts Ready to be turned into....

T-Shirt Yarn, And then into....

My Dream Blanket!

I'm in love with Suz Place!

Her designs are gorgeous and she knows her stuff when it comes to colour (theory dare I say?) Check them out and let me know what you think. +Sue Pinner

Here is the link to her blog