And even more potholders (with a bonus hot pad)

I tried to make myself another potholder using a really cool afghan block by Julie Yeager called "Firenze", but unfortunately, it came out too large.  So, now I have a really beautiful hot pad!  I had planned to crochet the pattern until it got to the right size and then stop, leaving off the rest of the rounds, but unfortunately, the way Firenze was designed, it didn't "square up" until it got past potholder size.  Oh well!  It still turned out nice anyway.

After I posted pictures of my last round of scalloped potholders, I got orders for five more!  I made one for my Aunt Janet (Niki's and my crafting goddess muse) and four for my mother.  Mom gave them to our relatives who hosted her in Indiana when she went there last week for a family reunion.  My crocheted goods are being spread all over the country!

Potholder #1:

Potholder #2:

Potholder #3

Potholder #4 (whoops, forgot to take outdoor glamor shots of it, so these flash-lit ones are all I have):

Potholder #5 (whoops, forgot to take a shot with my real camera before I sent it to Aunt Janet, so this blurry cell phone picture is all I have... the other (not pictured) side of the potholder is all in the Lily Sugar 'n' Cream Cottage Twists):

More potholders are being planned and crocheted.....

More Potholders and Coasters

Lately, I've been crocheting up a storm of potholders and coasters....  I haven't worked this much with 100% cotton yarn since my doily crocheting days!  Acrylic yarn is still more comfortable for me to crochet with and far more economical for amigurumis, but cotton is the only way to go when you need heat protection and absorbency.

The first three potholders were crocheted for my mother- and father-in-law, who told me that they were in dire need of new ways to protect their hands from hot pots & pans.  My mother-in-law grew up on the Jersey Shore on Long Beach Island, and she still owns her childhood home, so we went with a seafood theme for the two potholders that will reside in that house's kitchen.  This lobster potholder pattern came out of a vintage (1951) crochet pattern book that is out of print, but the pattern was posted on Free Vintage Crochet.

The lobster is appliquéd onto a plain square potholder (I used a natural color for the front and red for the back), and it is crocheted in just two pieces!  What an ingenious design.  I love the texture on the tail (using slip stitches in front loop only and then going back behind with double crochet stitches in the back loops) and how the feelers are layered over the claws.  So cool!

This crab potholder is also from a vintage pattern available for free, and while the appliqué pattern is not as ingeniously designed as the lobster (all the crab's legs and claws were crocheted and then sewed onto the potholder separately), it still turned out very nice.

The only problem with this crab potholder is that my mother-in-law has declared it too pretty to use!  I guess I'll have to make her a couple of boring-looking yet functional ones to stash in a drawer. Ha!

My parents-in-law also received this version of the scalloped potholder for their house here in Texas.  I loved the blue one that I crocheted for myself so much (it's gorgeous and works really, really well) that I memorized the pattern and started churning them out.  They take about 2 hours each, and the pattern is simply lovely.

Isn't that Lily Sugar 'n' Cream Twists yarn cool?  The yarn is 4 ply, and each of the 4 strands is a different color (red, yellow, blue, and green).  I thought it looked great with this pattern.  I paired it with a sold red for the back.

Niki said she would like a potholder, too, so I stash-busted and paired this pretty Lily Sugar 'n' Cream yellow and green.

I still had more of the Lily Sugar 'n' Cream Twists yarn left, and I was itching to use it, so I decided to make one for my mom, too.

I didn't have enough yellow to make the entire back that color (even though that would have looked really pretty!!), so I put it in the center of the backside and finished off with red.  It looks kind of like a poinsettia to me!

When I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to get some other yarn, I had cotton on the brain, so I took a quick look at the Lily Sugar 'n' Cream section.  Yes, I should be stash-busting rather than buying more, but look at this cool Ombre yarn!!  Love the color combination.

This is a classic potholder pattern worked in single crochet stitches on the diagonal, and I love how it worked with the ombre yarn.

I had a hard time gauging how big it would turn out, and I made several versions before I was able to make one the perfect size.  Potholders don't work so well if they're too big or too small, and I was being very Goldilocks about the size.  I kept this beauty for myself!

In my quest to make the perfect coasters, I finally found a pretty pattern that was quick, easy, and works great to soak up condensation!  I can whip one of these coasters out in about 20 minutes, I think.  The color combinations were created through my stash-busting efforts.

Sonia loves these eye-catching coasters and uses them in her imaginative play a lot.  But, I steal them back to stick under my drinks.

One more cotton yarn project: I was commissioned to crochet another hair accessory holder for a very cool girl named Nadia, so I used some more of my cotton stash to create this:

The plastic hanger is a lot more sturdy than the one I made for Sonia with a thin wire hanger!  Apparently, Nadia loves it and was very happy to start clipping her hair accessories onto it as soon as it came in the mail.  Happy organizing, Nadia!!  She's a girl after my own heart.

Potholders & Coasters

Not sure what first inspired me, but I have made a bunch of potholders lately!  I have a bunch of worsted weight cotton yarn on hand right now, so this is great for stash busting.  The first one is the Flower Potholder by Jennifer Martin.  I hooked this cool design for my sister-in-law's birthday, and I think it turned out really lovely!

The double layer really does make a good heat shield, and it turned out to be the perfect size (using a G hook).

The surface crocheting was kind of a grind (and hard on the hands), but it looks awesome.  It even looks nice from the back!

I crocheted this next one for my mother, who has really embraced her new home state....  This pattern, like her armadillo, is by Wolfdreamer, and it was so much fun to crochet.  Something about my crochet tension made it turn out more rectangular than square, but that's ok.

This next potholder was SO much fun to crochet!  The Interlocking Rings Hotpad by Caitlin Pensak is constructed by crocheting 7 separate rings and weaving them together.  Then, you crochet a solid backing, and join both pieces together with a round of sc stitches.  Our brother, Jordan, was the recipient of this awesome potholder, so I used Denver Broncos colors in honor of his favorite NFL team.

He asked for a hanger to be added to the potholder so he could hang it up above his stove, ready for action.

Jealous of everyone else's cool potholders, I decided to make one for myself.  I used Prescilla Hewitt's Scalloped Potholder pattern, and it worked up very quickly and easily.

My only regret is that I used this pretty Lily Sugar & Cream ombre yarn that does not properly show off the nice design (which is created with front post stitches).

You can see it in the navy on the back, though.

I also crocheted myself some coasters to help combat the insane amount of condensation that forms on the outsides of drinks in Texas.  I know the humidity in Dallas is nothing compared to other places in the world (or even Texas), but it's more than I'm used to.  Anyway, I first gave Asami Togashi's Star Stitch Coaster pattern a try.... The pattern was more complicated than I was hoping it would be (making it too hard to crochet while chatting or watching TV), so I don't think I'm going to make a whole set of them.  This one that I finished is pretty, though!  It uses sock weight yarn, interestingly enough.

I also gave Moogly's Nautical Crochet Coasters a try....

....but I still wasn't all that happy with the results.  I had a hard time working with the thin cork (boy, is it easy to rip!!) and had to experiment a lot to be able to crochet the borders without ripping through the holes.  I had to use a smaller hook to get it through the holes punched in the cork, so then I wasn't able to use Moogly's exact patterns.  When I made up my own, I had less-than-stellar results. This red one doesn't lie flat (whoops).

This one turned out a bit better.

This is probably the best one.  I doubled up on the coasters after I punched the holes and that made the coaster feel a bit more substantial.

I still have plenty more cotton yarn left, so I'll keep experimenting with coaster patterns.  Coasters are fun, fast projects that are easy to tuck in a purse and do during my daughter's various activities, so I have a feeling I'm going to be working on them all summer long.

More primary polkadot fun

Made another small basket with some more of the Robert Kaufman polka dot strips from the jelly roll I won.  This one is just like Alicia's, but taller and with longer handles.  Not sure why I made the handles this long, because they look a tad silly.  This basket now holds the bill that need to be paid.

I also made a little hot pad/table topper/mug rug/whatever just playing with piecing.  I still have major issues with sewing straight and keeping a consistent seam allowance.  I'm thinking a quarter inch foot should be something I ask for on my birthday.

Again, I tried the wrap-around binding, and again I had issues with the mitered corners.  My friend, Kym, told me she liked the peekaboo corners though, so I'm going to pretend like they were meant to be like that.

I had fun with the quilting on this one, despite the fact that my machine was skipping stitched even after I changed my needle, cleaned out the bobbin area, rethreaded everything, and altered the tension.  I probably needed a heavier needle or something.  My latest theory is that my machine seems to get cranky with quilting spray basted items with felt as the batting.  I will be testing out this theory by changing the variables to see if I can isolate the problem.  Of course, it could also be that I need a walking foot for my machine.  Yet another birthday wish, I guess!