crochet cacti trio

My office in our new building is nice and big, but it’s got no windows and is very bare since we have to provide our own decor.  It needs something green, and since I can’t really grow real plants in there, I had to make my own!

IMG_3960not your average crochet - cacti

I’m really happy with all of them!  The agave took the longest and was hardest on my hands, but even so I can’t pick a favorite!

IMG_3960not your average crochet - cacti

I talked about the barrel cactus in my last post.  The agave & saguaro were also made with worsted yarn and a size E hook.  The free pattern for the agave can be found here and the free pattern for the saguaro can be found here.  I made some alterations though — with the agave plant I made 5 of the medium leaves, 3 of the small leaves, and then I made 3 even smaller leaves that aren’t included in the free pattern but follow the same easy premise.

not your average crochet - agave

I also made the saguaro a little taller so that I could bury a good bit of it under the rocks to stabilize it.

not your average crochet - saguaro cactus

These are just so cute, I’m so happy with them.  I might have to go back to the store and get a couple more pots and try a couple of other types of cacti!

Well that’s all for today, thanks for stopping by!

this is not a re-post

I made a second blooming flower cushion (pattern here):

blooming flower 2 front

blooming flower 2 back

And I did a better job on the zipper this time — it’s neater:

blooming flower 2 zipper

And I’ve been feeling much better, thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragement, it really made me feel happier!  I’m totally over it.

My exit exam was today, so that was intense.  I felt better learning that you can make under 70% and still pass, and if you just fail one or two sections on the exam you can re-take them.  All is not lost.  It was a really sucky test though — lots of stuff on there that our teachers never covered and I never read in any of our books.  Pretty rough.  I don’t even know when the results will be available, so it’ll be an anxious time for my classmates and me until we learn if we pass or not.

I’m just unwinding at home now, staring at my lovely cushions side by side:

blooming flowers

Yay!  And I’ve STILL got yarn left!  I’ve only run out of 2 colors, so I can make a few more little things.  I AM running out of Chris’ T-shirts…

Well, thanks for stopping by, and thanks again for your support and thoughtfulness!  You guys are the best!

cushion ta-da and ooey gooey feelings

blooming flower complete front 2

Ta-da!  I finished my cushion (pattern here)!  I did end up using 5 of Chris’ T-shirts to stuff it — I was too antsy to wait for an actual pillow form in the mail.  It turned out great — it’s nice and firm and only a little lumpy, but you can kinda just mush it into shape and it’s lovely and supportive!  Here’s the back:

blooming flower complete back

I used the same color sequence as the front because it would have bothered me if it was different.  I used all 17 colors from the Deramores Lucy Pack leftovers (from this blanket), and I still have enough yarn to probably make another cushion!  Next time I get this pack I will not skimp on blanket size — one pack is probably enough to cover a double bed!

blooming flower complete front 1

About dem feelins.  I’m definitely down today.  I’m consoling myself with the fact that I’ve made a couple of new friends lately and of course I’ve got my best friend and boyfriend, Chris.  He always makes me feel better when I’m down, and I’m very thankful for him.  I also made a list of 10 things that make me happy:

  1. reading
  2. knitting/crocheting
  3. Dr. Pepper
  4. my boyfriend
  5. my dog
  6. my family/my boyfriend’s family
  7. the friends that I do have
  8. comfy pajamas
  9. good music/TV shows
  10. pretty things in nature, i.e. flowers, ocean, fields

I can keep going, but 10 is enough to make me smile.

Thanks for stopping by, I’ll be more positive next time! 🙂

told you I procrastinate…

Here’s the proof.  Today I did this:

blooming flower back

 

It’s the back to my blooming flower cushion, the pattern for which is here.  I made the whole back today, stitched it to the front, and I attempted my very first zipper-on-a-crocheted-item:

blooming flower zipper

 

It’s a little uneven looking when it’s unzipped, but for a first try I’m very satisfied.  Still don’t have a stuffing for it though… I’m considering some of my boyfriend Chris’ white T-shirts because they’re already in the house and available… now the question is whether to tell him that I’ve used them for stuffing or just pretend that they’re lost.  Hmm…

oh dear…

It’s amazing how much crafting one can get done when there is something massively important looming closer and closer that you don’t want to prepare for.  Like studying for my school exit exam.  Look what I made today:

flower cushion front

 

It’s the front for the blooming flower cushion from Attic24.  I know, I know, I copy her stuff a lot.  Well, I had the leftover Stylecraft Special DK yarn from my last blanket, and it’s a cute fun pattern, so why not?  It’s been in my Ravelry queue forever, and I was reminded of the pattern by Rachel’s recent post on her own lovely finished cushion.

I’m dissatisfied with the picture — it looks so dark — but our apartment windows let in minimal light and it’s nighttime anyway.  I was just too excited with this project to wait until tomorrow.  Plus, tomorrow, I may have the back done and the whole thing sewn together to show you.  We’ll have to see… I REALLY need to study more.  I also need to find something to fill the cushion with.  Our Hobby Lobby doesn’t have round pillow forms and my LYS doesn’t carry them either.  Maybe old T-shirts, if the T-shirt colors don’t show through the yarn.  Or maybe a square pillow just stuffed in.

Also, does anybody have any ideas about how I could easily make this cushion cover removable?  The pattern instructs for it to be completely stitched up around the pillow form, and that might not be best since I have a boyfriend and a dog (meaning I have to wash things a lot).  Adding buttons unobtrusively might be difficult though, I just don’t know.  Or instead, do you just throw your cushions and covers alike into the washer?  If I could throw it into the washer whole, it wouldn’t matter.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

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