A little quilt-y keychain

Every now and then, I realize I could use a little more quilt-i-ness in my life. (Haha! But, seriously!)

I like to keep a little latchable something on my keys (so I can attach them to my purse and not lose my mind), and the plain loop thing I had on my key ring got worn out. The keys go on the ring end, of course, and it's long enough that I can clip it to the ring on my purse, but still tuck the mess of keys into the pocket of my purse.

So, quilty scraps got made into this! I made a quilt-y "tube" out of scraps, and added the the nylon webbing-strap through the "tube" (the full length of it, folding it around the key ring on one end, and around the clasp-thing on the other end). The ends of the nylon strap got tucked back into the "tube", and the ends got stitched securely.

 

This is the first time I've made something like this, and I had my doubts about how durable it would be. But it's lasted over a year now, and it's still going strong. It's a fun use for the funny little purse-clasp and nylon strap that I saved from some other random thing.

(Honestly, though, I wasn't too concerned: if I had to make another one, it's not like I've got a shortage of materials!)

Pink Crochet Afghan

Crochet has definitely been a thing this year. Earlier this year, I made this little pink-and-neutrals afghan.
Here are a couple of pics...

I enjoyed making this little afghan ... super-easy pattern, consisting of all double crochet stitches.

In fact, I liked making it so much, I decided to make another one later in the year in different colors!

This pattern (and other color pics) can be seen on Pinterest here: (this pin, this pin, and also this one), as well as at this link. 

Of course, I made the stripes lengthwise so I could just leave all the yarn ends as fringe (not pictured), starting each row with a new length of yarn, and trimming all the fringe to about 6 inches.

More crochet - Lumberjack Afghan

It has been too long since I've posted pictures!

Seems like there's always some project in the works. (Ha! Actually, several projects, I should say!)

This is an afghan I finished earlier this year, for one of my sons. 

I had fun with the crochet pattern -- it's one I haven't done before. It's super simple, but it turns out looking like a complicated Houndstooth pattern. (Seriously, sc, dc, sc, dc to end. On the next row, coming back, sc in dc, dc in sc, sc in dc, dc in sc. The texture is awesome!)

The original pattern is called Lumberjack Throw by Kathleen Garen, and, as often happens, I came across it on Pinterest. (See this pin.)

A little more crochet

Today's work ... or play!

It's going to be a little afghan. Friends of friends are taking a mission trip and would like to take some baby blankets to take with them to give away.

It's a fun collaborative effort, because the yarn was given to me for the project, and I'm enjoying the making, and someone else gets to give it away!

Crocheting today

A lot of my crafting lately has been crocheting. Here's what I'm working on today.

Green strings

In my neverending quest to turn scraps into useful things, I've had some fun making string-blocks out of scraps. 

It's really satisfying to turn a pile of this ...

... into a little something like this! 

Next up, this one will get some borders and become a baby quilt for a friend.

Aqua quilt-y pieces

The beginnings of quilt-making projects are always fun ...

Here are some pieces of the latest!

Progress is happening ... I've got a bunch of string-blocks made for the bigger blocks in this design.

Next up: I need to trim the string-blocks and cut out the white (background) pieces.

More pictures soon!

A long-time finish

This week, I finished crocheting an afghan that's been in progress for several years. It feels good to have it done!

I actually started it about 10 years ago. For some reason, I got about a quarter of the way done and then quit working on it. After putting it away for a few years, I rediscovered it last fall. (I mentioned it here.)

Progress was a little slow ... partly because every row is over 200 stitches long ... and partly because there are almost 200 rows ... and partly because I've had lots of other projects in the works. (Check back soon for pictures of those ones!)

Anyhow ... This one's done!