alipyper

Category: alipyper likes to crochet

  • Christmas Granny Squares and Harmony in Provo

    A brand new fabric, knit, and gift shop is opening in a historic house in downtown Provo this weekend! It’s very exciting, especially since I will be teaching some crochet classes in the new shop! Laura Harmon and her amazingly talented daughters are opening up Harmony at 315 E. Center Street in Provo this Friday September 14th.
     

    www.harmonyprovo.com

    Isn’t it kind of funny that during Rivalry Week (BYU plays against the U of U this Saturday in football) that we’re going to get some Harmony in Provo??

    I’ll be teaching an Intro to Crochet class, which will be a small class to allow lots of one-on-one help for beginners, and a Granny Squares class where I’ll teach lots of great tricks to update this iconic classic crochet motif! It is going to be so much fun! Stop by this weekend to sign up and check out this amazing new shop.

    I’ve decided to crochet a Christmas Granny Squares afghan as part of the Granny Squares class. The other week {G} was horrified that I had already started planning what I wanted to make for Christmas, but with hand-crafted gifts you have to start early! I’m really, really excited about how this afghan is going to turn out and super excited about Harmony!

  • Crochet Heirloom Baby Blanket

    I’ve started a new heirloom baby blanket that I plan on donating to our dear friends who are trying to raise money to adopt three orphan siblings from the Ukraine. When it’s finished it will be available on their silent auction.

    I’m always surprised at how much I enjoy crochet when I return to it! It’s so fast and satisfying!

    I’m using a 100% mercerized sport weight cotton yarn by Jaeger called Siena that was in my stash. I’m adjusting this pattern, using the main motifs as a smaller center section, then I’ll add a wide border to finish.

    I woke up early this morning with my fingers itching to keep working on it. That’s a good sign that this project will get done quickly!

  • Chevron Stripe Pillowcases

    Another cute niece is getting married, so she’ll receive a set of crochet edged pillowcases. My super easy pattern and tutorial here!

  • Zigzag Chevron Blanket

    I’ve been kind of naughty this week. I’ve been watching hours and hours of Downton Abbey episodes from Season 1 AND Season 2 trying to catch up before the Season 2 Finale on Sunday. It’s been so glorious!

    To make myself feel better about the time commitment of such an undertaking, I’ve been working on the unfinished afghan I gave to my parents for Christmas.

    Yes. I gave my parents an unfinished blanket for Christmas this year. Pretty lame, I know. Check out my Ravelry project page for more information about the pattern and how I adjusted it for the blanket. I’m really loving the pattern! When it’s finished I’ll post more pictures.

  • Soft Cloth Dolls – Toy Tuesday

    There are some really lovely dolls patterns floating around the web. {I like these here or here}

    Emily Winfield Martin of (Inside a Black Apple) shared her sweet little doll pattern when she appeared on the Martha Stewart show a little while back. I was also totally inspired by the super cute dolls I found while browsing Pinterest.

    I constructed this little thing using the free Black Apple Doll pattern out of cotton interlock knit because I wanted to make a few sets of changeable clothes for her to wear, but the pattern is also super darling when the body and legs are made from fabric. That way your sweet doll comes ready dressed!

     There is still time before Christmas to whip up a little doll for a loved one! Or, check out these lovely things by threaded basil.

  • Chevron Stripe Crocheted Pillowcase Tutorial

    My super cute and thoroughly modern niece recently got married (Yes. Yes, I did make the cake). Before the wedding we had a bridal shower for her and my gift to her was a set of chevron stripe crocheted pillowcases.

    I LOVE pillowcases with a hand crocheted edge. The pair of simple crocheted and embroidered pillowcases I inherited from my Grandmother Mangum are on my bed and they are a treasure I get to enjoy every day.

    My grandmothers pillowcases are crocheted on a hemstitched edge.
    There are basically five ways to attach a crocheted edge to a pillowcase: 
    (1) Crochet your lace and sew it on afterwards. (not recommended)
    Crocheting your lace independently of your pillowcase works for lace patterns only if you know the exact gauge length of your lace pattern. You’ll have to completely start over if you didn’t plan enough beginning chain stitches. Not fun.

    Hemstitch edge on hemstitch pillowcases
    (2) Have a hemstitch edge sewn on your pillowcase.
    This produces a lovely finished edge of holes to your pillowcase and makes it very easy to crochet your lace directly on the pillowcase, but you’ll need to find someone who has a hemstitching machine and send it out to them.
    (Or, find out if your sewing machine is compatible, buy a hemstitch needle and try to hemstitch it yourself. Score!)

    (3) Sew a blanket stitch edge onto your pillowcase and then crochet your lace onto this foundation.

    This is an very quick and easy option. Go see these cute pillowcases inspired by this link. You can use matching embroidery thread or your crochet thread for the blanket stitch.
    This rotary blade attaches to a standard 45mm rotary cutter and makes small perforated holes evenly spaced across your fabric. This quickly takes the place of poking your fabric with a needle or awl, but the blade will cut the material of your pillowcase. I have personally never used this rotary blade for high quality cotton pillowcases. I know that it works great on fleece or flannel blankets.

    I used a sharp needle to make a hole in the edge of the pillowcase and then did 3 chain stitches between each single crochet into the holes.

    (5) Use a sharp, fat needle or awl to poke measured holes across the edge of your pillowcase. Single crochet into the hole and use chain stitches to connect to the next hole for a foundation edge.
    This is the way I’ve always done it, but this method is time consuming and is kind of awkward and I often pull the fibers of the pillowcase fabric as I’m poking the crochet needle into the hole. This is the way women have been crocheting edge lace for centuries

    Recently, I was fortunate enough to find a woman who has a hemstitching machine and she charged me a very reasonable price to hemstitch the edge of my pillowcases. Yay! If you’d like her contact information, please email me at alipyper(at)gmail(dot)com and I will tell you how to get in contact with her.

    Okay. So once you have a foundation row embroidered or single crocheted onto your pillowcase edge, you can start crocheting the chevron stripe. I’ve used #10 bedspread weight crochet thread and a US 7 (1.65 mm) crochet hook. Adjust hook size to obtain gauge.

    Gauge: This chevron pattern has a 1-5/8″ (43 mm) repeat. Most standard pillowcases are 21″ x 32″ (53 x 81 cm). You might need to make one or two pattern repeats slightly longer or shorter depending on the size of your pillowcase. This is super easy to do!

    USA Crochet Terms:
    MC: main color (I suggest using the same color as your pillowcase)
    CC: contrasting color
    st(s): stitch(es)
    ch: chain stitch
    sc: single crochet
    hdc: half double crochet
    dc: double crochet
    htr: half treble crochet (yarn over twice. insert hook into desired stitch. draw yarn through stitch. yarn over and draw through two loops. yarn over and draw through last three loops)
    tr: treble crochet
    hdtr: half double treble crochet (yarn over three times. insert hook into desired stitch. draw yarn through stitch. yarn over and draw through two loops. yarn over and draw through two loops. yarn over and draw through last three loops)
    dtr: double treble crochet
    triple dc dec: triple dc decrease. [yarn over. insert hook in next st. draw yarn through st. yarn over and pull through two loops (leaving two loops on hook). yarn over and insert hook in next st. draw yarn through st. yarn over and pull through two loops (leaving three loops on hook). yarn over and insert hook in next st. draw yarn through st. yarn over and draw through two loops (leaving four loops on hook). yarn over and draw through last four loops on hook]

    Pattern:
    Row 1: With MC, ch 4. [1 dtr, 1 hdtr] in same st. 1 tr in next st. 1 htr in next st. 1 dc in next 2 sts. 1 hdc in next st, 1 sc in next st, *1 hdc in next st, 1 dc in next 2 sts, 1 htr in next st, 1 tr in next st, [ 1 hdtr, 1 dtr, 1 hdtr] in next stitch, 1 tr in next st. 1 htr in next st. 1 dc in next 2 sts. 1 hdc in next st, 1 sc in next st*, repeat pattern from * to * until last five sts. 1 hdc in next st. 1 dc in  next 2 sts. 1 htr in next st. 1 tr in next st. Change to cc and join with a sl st to beginning ch.

    (Note: If you need to increase or decrease the length of the chevron repeat in order for it to fit nicely on your pillowcase, add or eliminate double crochets in the highlighted portion of the pattern. On the next contrasting color row, similarly add or eliminate double crochets to match the pattern.

    triple dc decrease

    Row 2: With CC, ch 3. *3 dc in next st. 1 dc in next 5 sts. 1 triple dc dec. 1 dc in next 5 sts.* Repeat from * to * until last four sts. 1 dc last four sts. Join to beginning ch, knot, cut thread and weave in ends.

    (Note: Make sure that your are crocheting 3 dc in the dtr, and crocheting the triple dc dec across the hdc, sc, and hdc stitches.)

    If you’d like to add additional colors onto the edge, just repeat row 2 (without knotting, cutting or weaving in ends) with a new color.

    It’s fun to have a simple, yet modern crochet pattern to add a little love to your pillowcases. If you have problems with the pattern or need help, let me know! alipyper(at)gmail(dot)com

    Click here for an easy to print pattern

    Enjoy!

  • Chevron Stripe Scarf for Japan

    Apparently I wanted to crochet a scarf for Japan instead of knit it. 

    I usually knit and crochet in very small gauges, but this time I chose a bulky yarn and I’m thrilled at how quickly the scarf was to crochet! An easy, fast, and thoroughly satisfying project.

    Chevron stripes seem to be all the rage right now. Remember the Missoni for Target frenzy?!

    This chevron stripe scarf is a free pattern from Lion Brand yarn. I’ve used Lion Brand Alpine Wool, which is 100% wool, for the light blue, and a vintage (like, really vintage) wool-blend yarn that was in my mother’s stash for the cream.

    We’ll send them off when {G} is done with hers.

    With the weather turning cold here, I’m thinking about scarves for myself. Here are a couple patterns that I think are really, really lovely…

     Knit by Dawn Sparks. This is her Etsy shop. Apparently the pattern is in 101 Designer One Skein Wonders.

    Crocheted by Coco Rose.

    Mr. O’Leary’s Scarf. Free Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

    If you’re interested in sending a scarf to Japan, please go here for more information, or click the link below or on my side bar.

  • Uncle Winn’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

    One of my fondest memories growing up was the freedom my Mom allowed in the kitchen on Sunday afternoons and evenings. Baking cookies, muffins, caramel popcorn and simple candies with whatever was in the pantry became a weekly ritual.

    But my mother’s kitchen was a kitchen dedicated to utility and quantity – there were eight kids to feed! All our meals, including desserts and snacks, were about how far you could stretch the ingredients and how quickly you could get the food to the table.

    I distinctly remember the first time I saw my Uncle Winn scoop out and bake cookies. Not only were his cookies super large, perfectly round and laden with chocolate chips, but he was using an ice cream scoop to put the dough on parchment paper lined baking sheets! What was that?!

    This was WAY before Martha Stewart popularized the techniques and tools from a gourmet restaurant and showed us how to incorporate them into our home kitchens. I had never seen anyone use a scoop for cookie dough! Nor had I ever heard of parchment paper. These cookies were nothing like the misshapen and hodge-podge cookies we were turning out in our kitchen!

    For more than twenty years, my Uncle Winn’s cookies have been one of the most anticipated treats at family gatherings. Recently, he shared his recipe in a family cookbook and he’s generously allowed me to share it with you!

    Uncle Winn’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

    1 cup butter, room temperature
    1 cup sugar
    1 cup brown sugar
    2 large eggs
    2 lids of vanilla (about 2 tsp)
    3 cups Quaker Normal Oats (quick oats, NOT old fashioned)
    2 cups all purpose flour
    2 tsp baking soda
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    1 pkg of milk chocolate chips or raisins

    Preheat oven to 375º F.

    Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add quick oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well. Mix in chocolate chips. Using a large scoop, scoop out cookies onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until edges are golden. Don’t over bake!

    Transfer to cooling racks and enjoy!

    Isn’t this afghan amazing? My Grandmother Mangum crocheted it in the 70’s and I’m BLOWN AWAY at the warm memories this blanket evoke in me and now as an adult, how brilliant her color combinations are! That super crazy brilliant pop of neon coral/peach against the dark green and olive green. LOVE that this afghan is crocheted in a wool blend and that it has retained it’s shape and texture. LOVE IT!

  • craft crush

    I have a crush.

    emma lamb

    Like, a total heart beating, sweat inducing, cheeks flushed, butterflies in the stomach crush.

    dottie angel

    COMPLETELY craft crushing on Emma Lamb and Dottie Angel. Can these two gals seriously be any more inspiring?!

    emma lamb
    dottie angel