I'm putting down my hook

Well I'm putting it down because I'm DONE with my wave afghan project!!!  Finally!  And I decided to post it to the Crochet Crowd on Facebook.  The response has been overwhelming!  I have over a thousand likes, countless comments and shares galore! See my post here.  Join the Crochet Crowd here, it's free, and there is soooo much eye candy and inspiration!!!

So without further ado, here is Leslie's Scrap Afghan!

And now that this is done I have started another project, and this time it's NOT crocheted!  Yeah I know!  Wow, but I needed to give my poor hands a small break.  In a few short months I will be hosting a table at a formal tea at church, and decorating my own table!  So I decided to make some place-mats, I used colors that match my decor at home, so I can use them after the tea.

The blue is leftover from my wedding, and the print I found at Wally World, on clearance!  After you cut a front and  a back for each place-mat you want to make you pin them right sides together

Then set up your sewing machine.  It helps to tape off the measurement so you make sure your seams are the same.

Sew up three sides, and part of the fourth, I left my opening in the middle of a side, it will help camoflauge it in the final steps.  Turn them right sides out.

That is as far as I have gotten on them so far, I still have to press them and do the final stitch, more blog on that later!

Gifted yarn and a Pompadour stitch

The great thing about joining a Craft group, or in my case a knit and crochet group is the pattern exchanges, and the yarn exchanges!

I got fun yarns because not many people in the group like working with them

I love getting new yarn, or getting to experience different types of yarn.  One of the ladies in the group brought in a bulky yarn that almost has a homespun quality to it, very soft, and the most lux mix of colors!

She didn't want it, found it difficult to work with, so I took it on!

We did a bit of show n tell, so I could see some of the projects they work on as a group, and stuff they donate, and I saw a scarf done in a beautiful pattern, turns out that pattern is actually a baby blanket stitch, but as with most projects it can be altered and just use the stitch for a scarf, so I will be attempting the Pompadour stitch using the above yarn!

The pattern for the Pompadour is simple.

Ch20

Row 1 - Start in the 5th ch, work (1dc, ch2, 1sc) in the same stitch, *sk2ch, (2dc, ch2,1sc) in next st* repeat * to * across, end (2dc, ch2, 1sc) in last ch, ch2 and turn

Row 2 - Work (1dc, ch2, 1sc) in first ch-sp, * work (2dc, ch2, 1sc)in next ch-sp* repeat * to * across, ch2, turn

Row 3 and on - Repeat row 2 until desired length, weave in ends.

UPDATE: Yeah, I am so ambitious!  There is no way, well there is no way I can do the Pompadour scarf with the pretty fluffy yarn, so I am simply doing a row of 10 DC until I have the desired length of scarf.  I will however find an appropriate yarn to do the pompadour stitch.

Multipurpose

I've been working on a new project.  I have the opportunity to do a pro bono project, turning an old church, into a useful multipurpose building for youth group, a contemporary service, and a coffee and snack area.  The church has owned this building for a number of years, and it is currently largely unused.

The decor needed to be geared towards young adults, in the 20-30 year range.  The color pallet I chose is elegant and modern.

I gave the church two options for the coffee and snack area.

The first option kept the small two piece bath that is currently there.  Flipping the sink from the main room into the office and adding cabinets on the back wall for more storage.  Opening up the window, and adding a small 10" counter for setting coffee pots and other items on.

The second option would be a bit more expensive as it would mean taking down the walls to the bathroom, capping the toilet and using the plumbing for the sink for the plumbing for the new kitchen sink.  The cabinetry would extend on two sides of the room giving more storage space and more prep space.

The main space would be visually divided by the furniture in the room.  The church requested pub height tables and chairs.

At the opposite end of the space is the baptismal.  It is currently blocked off and not working, but the plans are to fix it, and revamp it so it can be part of the decor.  My plans are to remove the current orange painted paneling and to drywall the entire wall, painting it off white so it can be used with projectors.  The paneling in the baptismal area is to be replaced with faux barn wood. And finished with a Styrofoam cross created by the youth group.

The current ceiling fans need to be replaced, and new carpeting throughout!  I am excited to hear back from the presenter to hear which option the church chooses, and to hopefully be involved in the remodel process!