Sarah's blog

sarah

  • Practicing knitting stiches

    I’ve been on a knitting kick lately and have been making little mats with the new stitches I’ve been practicing.

    Here is a stitch called King Charles which is made using knit and purl stitches. The yellow yarn really highlights the textured outlines of the diamonds.

    The second one is a triangle pattern and is a little harder to see with the darker green yarn, but still quite striking. I’m not sure where I’ll use them yet, maybe as mug rugs by my computer.

    I’m currently making a third mat in a checkerboard stitch using a grey/blue yarn. I’ll post it when I’m done!

  • Two Coasters

    A couple of weeks ago I wanted to make a couple of coasters for my sewing table. My go to is crochet so for the first one I found a circle motif in a Japanese crochet book that looked pleasing. I used some purple cotton yarn.

    The second was woven on a little frame loom using a tabby weave, alternating yellow and grey yarn over each other. This was a fun pattern to follow and I especially liked practicing the double hitch knot to tie the ends together before removing.

  • Crochet Heart Square

    I wanted a mat to go underneath a Himalayan salt lamp I have set up in my crafting area. I found a pattern in one of my Japanese crochet books that I thought would look cute. I’m still on the fence with this lamp and may end up getting rid of it anyway, but in the meantime the mat helps elevate it a little bit.

    I think it's pretty cute on it's own. Blocking really helped.

    This is one of those projects that is getting used but is just kinda meh feeling. Oh well, that’s how it goes. I’ll blame it on the Salt lamp.

  • Koi Tote

    I want to do more sewing projects this year, beyond making or hemming curtains. Here is a tote made out of a beautiful koi fabric:

    Some projects I’d like to attempt next: curtain tieback, mug rug, wall hanging, coaster.

  • Knitted Scarf

    I had some lovely wool yarn with an uneven texture. I’m not sure if it was hand spun or not, but it seemed to be. I decided to make a simple garter stitch scarf out of it. Here is the result:

    Worked up with four different colors. I chose to go from lightest to darkest.

    I tried it out a few weeks ago, but it was a bit too wide and scratchy for me. I may undo it at some point and make it thinner. Maybe Kenny will be able to wear it without issue. The last scarf I made for him was out of green and black acrylic yarn in the mid 2000s so he’s about due for a new one. And Slytherin colors really aren’t his thing. 🙂

  • Zipper Pouches

    I find lining crochet bags a finicky process, especially when a zipper is involved. And I don’t like making tassels or doing embroidery. This project combined a lot of techniques that I’m not so good at. But I have to admit having a lining really makes it look more polished and the initial more personal. I hope that these pouches get a lot of use. Milo said he’s going to store Lego in his, of course.

    Monogrammed zipper pouch (crochet)
    Lining

    Progress on the garter stitch blanked has slowed down a bit, but everyday I’m still chugging along. I hope to get comfortable enough with knitting to be able to watch a show while doing it. I’m on the second strip!

  • February Progress

    Here’s what I’ve completed so far in February:

    Heart Bunting (crochet)
    Mermaid Tears Purse (crochet)
    Just for Her Afghan (crochet)

    I’m currently attempting a blanket knitted in strips of garter stitch. I get to go crazy with the color combos. 😻

  • January Projects

    January Projects

    I have a big tote of acrylic yarn. There are many beautiful colors to choose from, but it’s acrylic yarn. I don’t want to create a scarf or a sweater out of it. A lot of it is Red Heart Super Saver and that stuff is scratchy as heck.

    The bin.

    Ideally, I would only buy the (higher quality) yarn I need for a specific project, but I don’t want to buy more yarn until I get some of my stash used up. So, what do I make with the yarn I have that I would actually find useful?

    For January I decided to finish a sampler Afghan I had started in November 2024. It’s cold, the blanket doesn’t have to be directly against my skin, and I can layer it over other more comfortable bedding. It used up a lot of the leftover yarn from another blanket I completed last fall.

    Sample Afghan (crochet)

    I crocheted a table runner next:

    Table runner (crochet)

    The third project was the knitted pillow cover from my previous post. It was made from wool yarn provided in the kit for the class, not my own supplies. Here’s the actual front of the pillow:

    Knit cover (front view)

    That’s pretty much it!

  • A Knitted Pillow Cover

    A Knitted Pillow Cover

    I signed up for a knit a pillow cover activity at the library. I am a beginner knitter so I chose a pattern with only knit and purl stitches. It’s an embossed diamonds stitch with a ribbed edge. I sewed it together like an envelope in order to skip out on making buttonholes. I now see that I need a lot more practice with mattress stitch, but all in all it turned out pretty cute, even with the sloppy corners.