How to Crochet a Simple Edging on a DishCloth Tutorial (Video)...

 

Hi Friends!!!  I made another tutorial video to show how I crochet a simple edging onto dishcloths.  I used dishcloths I had previously crocheted, but you could use any dishcloth that you have.  That video can be found here.  And if you want to see my original tutorial video on how to crochet the actual dishcloths it can be found here. 

You can add an edging in a contrasting color, similar color, or the same color.  The options are endless.  I do recommend you use similar weight yarn for the edging so that they will wash well. And I also suggest you use all cotton yarn for this project. My favorite yarn to use is this yarn from Amazon (affiliate link).

And if you do take the time to crochet a few dishcloths, consider blessing a friend with one.   They make wonderful gifts!  I love to give them to friends here and there throughout the year.  They also make great house-warming, hostess, and Christmas gifts.  Just a couple ideas for you!!

I have received so many lovely comments from you all about how much you have enjoyed my tutorial videos. And I really appreciate that!  I only create these videos as an act of love for you all so I am glad you find them helpful!!!  Feel free to share them with others too!!  I would really appreciate that!! And always feel free to ask me any questions or show me your beautiful creations.  I love hearing from you all!!!

I hope you have a lovely day!!!  

Keep stitching!!!

xoxo, 

Cindy

31 Days of Creating 2021 - Day 28

 

"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude." 

~ G. K. Chesterton

Happy Thursday! How was your day? Were you able to create some space in your schedule to do something you enjoy? Did you experience calm and ease?

It was a cloudy autumn day here. I love feeling the chill in the air. I also love to crawl under a cozy quilt and crochet for a few minutes as the sun sets. Today I decided to hand crochet lace on this handkerchief. I love creating this lace on baby blankets, preemie gowns, baby dresses, little girl socks, etc. It’s another little thing that brings me joy!!! 🌿🧵🍂 

~ Cindy

31 Days of Creating 2021 - Day 14

 

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” 

~Robert Louis Stevenson

It was another gorgeous fall day! I mentioned last year that I crochet all our dishcloths. I am often making them and putting them in a basket to use as needed, or to give as gifts. Tonight I thought I’d work one up with this new color of yarn. I really like it! 

Last year when I shared these a sweet friend asked me if I would create a video showing in detail how to make these. If you are interested, you can find the video here on YouTube. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to help!!!  🍁🌾🍂 

~ Cindy

Knitted Hats to Donate...

 

A few months ago I decided to knit some hats to donate to my community. As of now, I have finished 6 hats and have 1 more on my needles that I’m hoping to complete soon. 

I really like this hat pattern by Love Crafts. It is available for free here. And for fun, I crocheted this cute pink flower and attached it to the blue hat. I made up the flower pattern as I went so I can’t reference a pattern for it until I write it down. And I love these yarn colors! The yarn is worsted weight and came from Michael’s. It is called Impeccable.

I am researching where to donate these cute hats. I’m thinking one of the shelters in my community. If you have any other ideas let me know!

What are you all working on now that Spring has arrived? Are you stitching, knitting, crocheting, or what? I do hope you are enjoying the process while you create something beautiful!!!

Happy Stitching Friends!!!

Cindy

My Favorite Lotion for Crafters...

 

I have people ask me about lotions all the time. Crafters are always looking for a lotion that works and doesn't leave greasy hands behind.  And I think I have tried every lotion available over the years.  I am happy to say I have found my favorite lotion ever!!!  Especially for anyone who crafts, sews, crochets, knits, etc.  I rub the smallest amount on my hands and literally within a minute or two it is absorbed, there is no greasy residue, and miraculously, my hands are super soft!!! Plus I only have to use it every few days.  I love this aloe-based lotion and I have shared it with many people.  I love it so much I have even become a L'BRI Independent Consultant so that I can share the joy with others!!!  

If you are interested in purchasing some you can contact me, or find it here.

Another aspect I love is that it comes in several fragrances, OR you can get fragrance-free, which is my personal favorite!!!  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. 

I'm off to piece together a few quilt blocks.

Happy Stitching Friends!!!

Cindy

How to Crochet Cotton Dishcloths (Video)

  

I have posted  before about how much I enjoy making cotton kitchen dishcloths. I make them to give to others. And I make them for us to use in our kitchen. 

Last fall a few friends asked if I would show them how to make them. So after I thought it through, I decided to make a video. In the video I assumed the person watching was brand new to crochet, so I tried to cover all the basics. 

If you are interested in watching the video so you can make these wonderful dishcloths here it is. I hope you find it helpful! And please let me know if you have any questions. 

Happy crocheting, friends!!!

Cindy

My Favorite Crochet Cotton Dishcloth Materials Needed: Worsted weight cotton yarn (1 ball of yarn will yield several dishcloths) Size H/8 (5.00 mm) crochet hook Darning needle Chain 29 stitches. Row 1: Single Crochet (SC) in 2nd chain stitch from hook, and in each chain across. At end of the row, Chain 1 stitch, and turn. (Should have 28 stitches). Row 2: SC in the back loop of the 1st stitch. Then SC in the front loop of the next stitch. Continue stitching across the row alternating between the back loop and the front loop. At the end of the row, Chain 1 stitch, and turn. Repeat Row 2 for approximately 18 rows, or until the dishcloth is square. Remember that you can fold the fabric diagonally to see if it is square. Last Row: When the fabric is the length you want, SC in every stitch (going through both loops of the previous rows of SC. Cut the yarn leaving a 6” tail and either pull the tail through the loop on your hook OR enlarge the loop on your hook and pull the ball of yarn through it. Either way will lock in your stitches. Thread the darning needle with the ending tail and weave through a few stitches to stabilize the tail. Then repeat for the beginning tail. Trim the ends. These cotton dishcloths can be tossed into the washer and dryer with your regular towels. They will shrink a little but will serve you well for a long time. I hope you enjoy making these and hopefully you can share some with others. Be blessed friends!!!

Cotton Dishcloths - 31 Days of Creating...

 

I make these cotton dishcloths whenever I have a few minutes of time here and there. They are quick and simple to make. I keep a basket with all the supplies, as well as the ones I have finished. We use them daily at our house and we often give them as gifts. I love how colorful they are!!! 

Do you have something you like to make and share with others?

xoxo!

A Fun Crocheted Flower - 31 Days of Creating...

I have decided I love these cute little crocheted flowers! They work up pretty quickly and add a fun little statement. I made this one in an ivory color and I really like it on my jean jacket. It makes me smile. What made you slow down and smile today? 

xoxo!

 

Creating Music - 31 Days of Creating...

Music has an amazing ability to calm, relax, and refresh people.  Myself included.  Creating music is not my forte, but I do have four children who all play piano beautifully!!!  I often ask them to play so that I can enjoy the music.  Tonight I asked one of them to play some hymns for us.  

While I'm listening to they hymns I am crocheting on my afghan I posted about two days ago.  I do find a lot of music relaxing and refreshing!

Do you enjoy music?  And are you able to create music? 

xoxo!

Crocheting an Afghan - 31 Days of Creating...

 

Tonight after dinner I went for a quick, refreshing walk and then crocheted a few minutes on this afghan. I love having a project like this to work on when we are all sitting around and talking because the pattern is very forgiving and super easy to remember. Plus it’s a great way to slow down after a busy day! 

Do you have a project you like to work on after a long day?

xoxo!

Crochet Flower Fun - 31 Days of Creating...

 

This afternoon I spent a little bit of time with a tiny 1.5 mm crochet hook and some thin 10 wt. yarn.  Using the flower pattern from the A to Z of Crochet book by Inspirations Books I made this sweet little light blue flower.  I have made many of these flowers over the years.  I really like to pin them onto my jean jacket and other misc. jackets.  They bring an unexpected surprise to my outfits and I cannot tell you how many people comment when I wear them.  I think they are just fun!  And they make me smile!!!  On my Instagram account (sewblessedcindy) I posted a short video of me crocheting the flower.  Feel free to check it out if you'd like. 

Did you take a few minutes to do something to nourish your soul today?  I challenge you to try it!!! 

Happy stitching, or crocheting, or whatever brings you joy!!!

xoxo!

A Beautiful Bookmark.....

My Emily was very kind and generous in her gift giving this past Christmas.  Not to mention that she made all of the gifts that she gave.  She was a busy girl!

She made me two of these beautiful and delicate-looking hand crocheted bookmarks!  I love them!  I think I will put one in each of my two favorite Bibles.  She got the pattern from here, if anyone is interested in making a few for gifts this year.  They would make wonderful gifts for anyone on your gift list though out the year!!!

We are hibernating inside awaiting bitter cold weather the next few days.  Brrr!!!  I'm thinking about what projects I'm going to work on if the opportunity presents itself.  Probably my next quilt assuming we have power as I am still piecing it.  And if we are without power I am thinking I could work on my next hand embroidery project.  It's always good to have a few projects ready for any given situation. That's my philosophy anyway!

Keep Stitching and Stay Warm!!!!  xoxo!!!

My Emily is Making and Selling 18" Doll Clothes Now.......

My Emily is taking an entrepreneur class and she was challenged to come up with an idea/item to sell.  Since she loves making 18" doll clothes she has decided to start right there with what she loves.  She has one item on Ebay right now that ends tomorrow night, and here are a few more items she's about to add.  We are discussing whether to put these up on Ebay or Etsy.  But one way or the other, she is in major cut and sew mode.  

This sweet little hat she crocheted for the 18" dolls.  I love how colorful it is!  And a flower is always a nice surprise!  This is her own design/pattern.

She stitched this adorable jean skirt too.  Love her straight topstitching!!!  She has partnered with Liberty Jane Patterns and has been given the ok to use their patterns as long as she gives them the proper credit.  That's so fun!  This is one of their patterns.

And so she isn't sewing alone, here is a sneak peek at a historical dress I made this week.  I'm waiting for the sun to come out so I can take better pictures.

And this cute dress that I showed you before is the one up for auction right now.  If you want it you can follow this link.  The auction ends tomorrow night!!!  So go take a look!!!  Please??

I've actually been sewing so much this week that it seems that all I've done is re-fill my bobbin.  I guess that's a good thing!!!  Back soon with more fun sewing projects.  And I have an idea for something really fun here.  I'm going to think it through a bit more and then I'll share.

Enjoy your weekend!!!!

My Emily.....

My Emily has been keeping herself busy lately.  She has been doing her "have to's"...that would be school work and chores around the house.  And she has been doing the fun and relaxing stuff.....which for her, are sewing, needlepoint, and crochet.  Yesterday she stitched this adorable dress made from a Liberty Jane Pattern.  It reminds me of a pillowcase dress and it would also look lovely in batiste with a bit of lace and a bottom hem tuck.

I've been keeping myself busy with all my "have to's" as well....plus a bit of fun stitching thrown in.  I've been working on some Wee Care gowns and also a shirt for Elisabeth.  Oh, I've also been crocheting some more cotton dish cloths.  I find them so addicting and mindless, which makes them wonderful to work on while I'm listening to a podcast or an audiobook here and there.

I hope you are fitting some stitching into your days too!!!

Wee Care Workshop.......

Have you all been wondering if I've fallen off the face of the earth? Sometimes I start to think that myself. However, I have been stitching a bit here and there since halloween. This past Saturday a couple of ladies from our Smocking Guild and I got together and constructed some Wee Care gowns. All was going great until we ran into pleating issues. I am telling you, sometimes pleating is almost effortless and other times.....well let's just say this was one of the other times. We had three pleaters and until we found our groove we had lots of problems! But we were finally successful and pleated 13 gowns. Now comes the fun part....the smocking!

I've also been working on a few crochet projects for a friend of mine. Her mom passed away and was in the middle of about 8 crochet projects for various family members. Emily and I agreed to finish them for her. So even though I've been quiet....I've still been quite busy. I hope you all are enjoying the fall and stitching a bit here and there as well!

Hand Knit Dish Cloths....

I mentioned before I would be back with a finished knitted project.....meet my new dish cloths. Have you ever used hand knit or hand crocheted dish cloths? We love them. We've been making them and using them for several years now. I usually just make very basic ones like this pattern. But awhile back I came across this pattern and made these two pictured above. I am slowly phasing out and throwing away all my old store bought dish cloths and replacing them with only hand knit or crocheted ones.

Here is a better idea of what these look like. Each one is folded in half here. And they are pretty big too. Almost too big for me....I like a dish cloth I can easily hold in my hand....but I will still be using these and probably making more. I really like the design as well as the stripe.

I must really be on a knitting and crocheting kick lately....because I have stopped by the yarn shop several times lately and I've picked up the above yarns for upcoming quick projects.

I am almost finished planning the first few months of school for the little ones. I am trying to fit in some stitching here and there but it isn't working too well. Once we get back on schedule I have several items I am hoping to sew. Hopefully you all are enjoying the last few weeks of summer too!!!

Baby's New Wardrobe.......

Emily (my 11 yr. old) has been having so much fun dressing this 5" baby doll of hers!!! I think she has 5 outfits completed now. I mentioned another one a bit ago. Today I jokingly asked her how long it takes to complete an outfit...."1 day?" She quickly corrected me with......"no...2 days!"

And so there are no concerns...baby has all her proper undergarments on too. Isn't she adorable? Emily uses size 10 crochet thread in various colors and a size 6 crochet hook to complete these little gems. She also has one or two that she knitted with size 3 needles. I'll try to get photos of the rest of the fun little outfits in the next few days or so.

In the meantime, I am thinking on a new tutorial. Hopefully I will get it started and finished in the next few days. It's been awhile since I've added any tutorials to the blog. It's not for lack of ideas but rather a lack of time. Ean is very mobile now and as a result my sewing time has come to a screeching halt. I'm hoping he'll slow down and become interested in his toys at some point...and then I'll be able to sit at the machine and sew again. Right now if I want to sew I have to wait until everyone is tucked into bed and hope that I am not completely exhausted...which is usually the case. I am smocking though, whenever a few random minutes come my way. I'm really curious to see how this dress is going to turn out for my Elisabeth.

Alright...time to finish dinner and get this family fed!

Crocheting......

Although I haven't been sewing lately....I did manage to squeeze in a bit of crocheting over the past few weeks. I have made several of these precious angels and I must say they are mildly addictive!!! I have not kept any...but rather given them to some of my favorite people!!! I also hope to make several more and hopefully at least one for myself.

I think we all are finally feeling better. We were all SO sick the week between Christmas and New Year's. It was either a really bad cold + croup thrown in for good measure for Sweet Ean OR it was the flu. Either way....it was terrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone!!! So if you are out there reading this and have the same thing.....I'm sending you {{{big hugs}}} because I know you are miserable!!!!

I hope to be back soon with some actually sewing to share!!!

Week in Review.....

I don't know how this can be but it seems I blink and another week quickly passes by! This appears to be the norm around here lately. So for those two loyal readers still here I thought I'd share the highlights of our week with you.

Wayne was out of town all week which always makes for a hectic week. He is so good to help out around the house, especially around dinner time when things can get chaotic. I've mentioned before that I cook almost entirely from scratch so I always allow an hour for dinner prep each and every night. It is wonderful when Wayne is home and is able to be with the little ones during that time. They find all sorts of fun things to do together! However, this week I was on my own and I still managed to put nourishing meals on the table, and for that I am grateful!

Emily delivered both of her custom-ordered baby blankets this week. The purple one you see above was for a sweet baby girl that has already been born. Emily decided she liked this particular stitch and then just decided how big she wanted the blanket to be. Finally she experimented for days to find an appropriate edging for it. She finally decided on this loopy edging that I think fit the open-ness of the blanket well. She wrapped it up in a piece of lavender lace and delivered it. No word from the mom yet, but I am sure she will love it!

The second blanket was for a baby boy that has not yet been born. The baby shower was actually today and the guy that asked Emily to make it called her tonight to tell her how much the mom loved it. We delivered this blanket yesterday and forgot to take a picture before we left home. Emily took this quick picture in the car. I wish we had a good picture of it though because it was really pretty. It was basically a large granny square because the guy that ordered it wanted her to use both green and yellow for the colors and we thought this would work out well. And it's interesting but both blankets were custom-ordered by guys for friends of theirs. I think that is kind of neat! And Emily really came through and did a great job. I am continually amazed by her abilities and her tenacity!

Let's see....there has been NO sewing this week since I wrapped up the halloween costumes. It's not that I did not want to sew....but that the time just hasn't been there this week. Although I am working on the program for our November Smocking Guild meeting. I am hoping to get the prototype finished up in the next few days so I can write up directions and such before our next meeting.

While pleating the sample I had quite the run-in with my pleater. It was acting very cantankerous and that did not please me at all! And then it had the nerve to break a needle! I was not a happy smocker at that moment. But after I completely dis-assembled the pleater, found all three broken pieces of the needle, removed the fabric that was partially pleated and completely mangled, and re-assembled the pleater, I decided to persevere and try again. Fortunately luck was on my side the second time through! Thank you Lord for caring about the little things as well as the big things in my life!!!!

Baby Blanket by Emily.....

I told you Emily had several projects she has been working on. Here is one of the other projects....a baby blanket that a friend ordered. A friend of ours needs a baby gift for a shower and he asked Emily to make a blanket. This has started a trend of somewhat because today another friend asked her to make another baby blanket for a shower he needs to attend next month.

Emily picked up this lilac yarn and then started experimenting with different size needles and stitches. She finally decided on this stitch and was able to work up this blanket in a week or so. She still hopes to put a border around the edge but she hasn't decided how she wants to do it yet. As of right now the blanket measures 26" x 34". We think it is a good size for a snuggly new baby.

Today the owner of our local heirloom shop saw Emily's baby doll dress and asked Emily if she would make a dress for a little doll of hers. I think she is going to be a busy girl this Fall!!!

I, on the other hand, have not touched a needle, thread, yarn or other for the past two weeks. I really need to make Sweet Ean some long pants....and Ethan is begging me for some jon-jons with a John Deer tractor on them. I am hoping to finish up a few things so I can get busy on new ones!!!