Pattern Review: Braided scarf and Yarn Stash: Franks Crafts Wintuk

Last month, I had the chance to make this Braided Scarf. I think I've had it in my Ravelry queue since the first time I signed up. 



I used three of my stashed yarns, including the Ombre Sayelle yarn I used in the Baby Bear Hat. The lighter green is the Caron Simply Soft Sage color I used from the Nautilus Cloche pattern. The bright green Frank's Crafts Wintuk yarn is one of a large bag of green and white yarns I purchased from a yard sale, when I just started crocheting. I used some of this green in the Poinsettia ornament pattern.

I used a I (5.55mm) crochet hook, and I did a foundation hdc of 120 stitches.

The blog wasn't really clear on how to sew the braid to make an infinity scarf. You can see in the picture below that I crocheted the three mini scarves together in a row. Now that I think about it, I would have stacked them and crocheted them together. I think I was almost running out of that yarn, so I didn't want it to go to waste. I might sew the stacks later.

I think it would look better if the braids were chunkier. But I am happy with the color combo, and I hope someone would like it.

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Yarn stash: Ombre Sayelle and Baby Bear's Back-up Hat

I haven't been feeling well the past few days, and I was in bed a couple of days. But I wanted to make something yesterday. So I looked through Ravelry for any free baby pattern. I wanted to find something to make for my boyfriend's friend's new baby girl. 

This cute hat caught my eye, mostly because that shade of yellow is one of my favorites! It was called Baby Bear's Back-up Hat. It did have a feeling of Winnie the Pooh whimsey.

When I clicked on the link to see the pattern, it sent me to the CrochetMe website, which has a PDF of this pattern and other cute baby patterns for free! (Sorry, this link is not longer working)

I downloaded the PDF and started on the pattern last night. Look how cute it looks!

It looks magical with the morning light shining too. It stops increasing on the 5th round, so this is a newborn size beanie. You could add more increases and length to make any size hat. The stitches were all dc, and the hat took a couple of hours to complete, even though I know it could have been done in one hour.

The yarn was another one of my vintage stash. Two different skeins with the same label were grouped together in a random grab bag. The full skein is lighter than the one I used for the hat, but it still has those nice tones of yellow and green. The clump is all I have left of the color. I'm glad it was put to use.

Yarn stash: Red Heart Wool in Olive and a Draw String Backpack

I've been collecting yarn over the past few years for my "stash". I love finding a bag of yarn selling at the local thrift store. But I have collected so much, and one of my goals this year is to use the most I can before I buy more. So far, I've been doing well on my promise to myself. I also don't want to spend money.

I grabbed a few different shades of greens to hold on to if I found some inspiration. I think I sat on this project for a month. I couldn't think of what to make to use up all the yarn. This vintage red heart olive colored yarn is one of my favorite, but the texture was a little bit rough. 

I found this pattern for a tote bag from Beatrice Ryan Designs, and I started working on it. I tried using most of the green I had with me, but the tote ended up longer that the pattern suggested.

So it became a draw string backpack.

I made the ties by creating an i-cord. I always wanted to make one following this video from June Gilbank. I am making tunisian crochet straps to add to the back. I'm also thinking of adding a flap on top, and I can use more of that olive yarn. I really like this pattern, and I hope I can make another one with some more of my stash colors.