aforementioned hat

Spider Web Slouchy Hat
size G crochet hook
about half a skein of Loops and Threads worsted weight yarn in some sort of rainbow color.

I thought that hat deserved its own post. :]
The hat was made from this lovely pattern:
Ravelry link to the free pattern.
And this is her blog.

By the way, this pattern is free! She's got other free patterns that all look fantastic, so pop over and have a look!


At first, I thought the pattern looked rather complex. But I figured go big or go home, right? So I didn't want to stay in my comfort zone for my first hat.


Next to grannies, this is the easiest project I have ever tackled. I mean it. The entire beret is chaining and double crochet, with some single crochet tacked on both ends. The pattern is simple and very easy to understand, and the hat only took me 3.5 hours, I think.


I started with a magic circle. Since it was my first time attempting a magic circle, I used a tutorial. Look, I'm a link!
So, on to pictures:

As you can see, I had made quite a bit of the hat before it occurred to me to take pictures. Halfway through, I discovered a neat trick: if you lose track of how many you're supposed to chain before the next dc, count out from the center round, starting with zero (when I say "center round," I'm referring to the 12 sc made into the magic circle). When you get to the round you're on, that's the number you have to chain. Sure, it only works for the nine rows after the magic circle, but the hat only has 20 rounds.

A few rows farther. Sorry for the not-fabulous photos; I temporarily lost my brain, and used my phone instead of my lovely camera.

Oh look! It's a hat! I've never actually worn a slouchy hat/beret before, so I'm still experimenting with how to actually wear them. Also, my hair is preposterously red. My mom was horrified.


So yeah! That's the awesomesauce hat. I still managed to do my German homework while crocheting it, though.

updates and granny squares!

So, hey there! It's Cupcake with an update of sorts.

My life has been absorbed by college and exams, much to my disdain. My writing has launched itself into my brain, so that urge had to be attended to. On top of all that, both of my wrists have been on the fritz. Yippee!

I have been filling any free time I have (when my wrists cooperate, that is) with making granny squares. I am completely and totally addicted. In fact, I've taken a small stock of my squares and pieced them together to start off one of my blankets. Right now, it makes a fair lapghan. Sadly, I did not think to take any pictures of my pretty little squares before piecing them together.

The squares were made with a size G crochet hook and worsted weight yarn.

I've also been busying myself with making squares using Redheart baby soft yarn. It's a right pain in my behind, since I've never worked with a yarn quite like it before. But I'm starting to get the hang of it, and I'm making plans for that blanket, as well. It's a bulky yarn, but I've been using a size J hook. No pictures at present, but I'm fond of the tension that the yarn/hook combo makes.

And alas! There's more! In an effort to distract myself from doing German homework, I made my first hat! I decided that it was finally time to escape simple projects like scarves and grannies, so I tackled a beret. It was a whole lot easier than I had thought it would be, and I'm very excited to start designing my own patterns. That, unfortunately, will wait until I have much more experience.

cozy mania~

Hello everyone! It's a cozy party in my dorm room! After I made the mug cozy for my boss, I instantly dove into hooking one for my friend. But instead of sticking to a pattern, I decided to just wing it. And this time I even have pictures! *dance party*

See! It's my friend's mug and her brand new mug cozy! I didn't have any more buttons, so she got a lumpy yarn flower...thing. The only problem that I had was working with the green yarn. It was a pain and a half, since it was so much thinner than my yarn. On top of that, the mug is a funny shape, so it needed several increases and decreases, so I needed to learn how to do them on the fly. But everything worked out, and it looks so nice, if I do say so myself! It's made of both single crochet and half-double crochet, to give it a little more cushion.

And now here's mine! Covering my lovely Rutgers mug!<3 The purple is my boyfriend's favorite color, and red is mine. It wasn't as hard as my friend's was, since it only needed one increase. I made it all (aside from the very bottom) in single crochet, so it would be a little more firm. I managed to teach myself how to carry along the yarn when I'm not using it, so I didn't have to cut and weave for every layer. I am, admittedly, a bit worried that the gap for the handle is too wide, but I shall not allow myself to be bothered by it!

~Cupcake

It's alive!

Already a successful crochet project!


No picture at the moment, but I have successfully crafted a mug cozy for my wonderful boss.
I used this pattern, found through Ravelry (if you're not a member yet, go sign up! It's a dream for all yarnworkers): http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/coffee-mug-cozy-2


The pattern was a piece of cake! It only took me an hour or so from start to finish.


On top of that, my big WIP project is my friend's blanket. It's only a couple feet long, and it's really not too bad difficulty-wise. The hard part is actually doing it.


I usually get distracted by new obsession: granny squares. But more on those later, once I have some pictures.


I proceeded to hatch the brilliant plan of making my own pattern. Alright, so it wasn't the best idea, since I've only been crocheting for a few weeks. But since my boyfriend sometimes comments that his fingers get cold while drinking Monster. So, like the loving girlfriend I am, I came up with a Monster Cozy. I won't say anything about that now, since I'm going to post the pattern I came up with!


~cupcake

Introducing...me

Firstly, an introduction post. My name is Heather, and I am addicted to knitting, crocheting, and writing. I am shy, silly, friendly, and if I make a true friend they have me forever. I study psychology at Rutgers University, and never seem to have enough yarn. My lovely boyfriend of three years has dove head-first into my addiction. Birthday and Christmas presents last year included copious amounts of yarn and supplies.


I have always liked having an outlet for ideas and thoughts, but I found diaries to be silly. "Why," I thought to myself, "would I want to put a thought out into the universe, only to have the world carry on, blind to it?" So, through blogging, I can get my voice out, rant, and ponder. All the while, anyone who cares enough can read it and tell me their own thoughts on the matter. Absolutely perfect, right?


So, here I am. I don't really care who reads this blog, or if you want to give me suggestions on life, crocheting, knitting, or running a blog. I can tell you that I'm always up for suggestions, and there will be so much more than just crochet on this blog.


Crochet, knit, and a touch of life. Just for, you know, good measure.


~cupcake