I’m am very happy to say that I have finished my very first craft project of 2014! If you saw my post about the lovely birthday presents that I received, you might remember that my Grandma bought me a crochet kit to make two beanies. Well, I put it to good use and made a start on the first beanie on the 3rd of January. I started on the woman’s hat first, and I made myself an oversized, baggy beanie. I had finished it by the 5th! On the 7th January I started the men’s beanie so that James could have one too, and I finished it yesterday on the 8th! Here are the finished items:
Mine is the one with the regular stripes, and James’ has the two lighter stripes across it. I used a much tighter tension on James’ hat so that it isn’t as baggy as mine! It was nice working on a quick project for a change; throughout 2013 I seemed to take on big challenges that took forever and I had forgot the sense of satisfaction that you get when you finish a small project quickly! I’m definitely eager to work on more smaller projects to use up my stash now!
The kit itself was really good as it came with all of the supplies that you needed to make the two hats. The instructions were pretty minimal though, so you would need some general knowledge of crochet to be able to complete it. The yarn was lovely and soft but not easy to work with as it was quite fluffy and the hook kept picking up strands rather than the whole piece. I also ran out of the dark blue yarn…there should be another dark blue row on James’ hat before the edging. It did introduce me to a new skill however…the crab stitch (reverse single crochet) which is literally single crochet in reverse (left to right instead of right to left)! It is used for the decorative edging on the beanies and I think it gives a much more professional finish…I will definitely be playing with this stitch some more!
While I was browsing my reader the other day, I saw a post by Crossed Treads, who was planning on creating a gallery for her projects, so that she and her readers can browse them all in one place. I love this idea and I think I am going to create one of my own! Since one of my goals for this year is to ‘craft with my stash’ it will be a good way of keeping track of my progress! I will add a new page called ‘2014 Project Gallery’ which you can access from the sidebar on the left hand side if you want to see what craft projects I have been completing this year!
Congrats on your first finishes of the new year! Feels great to get something completed so soon into the year, doesn’t it? You and James are going to look stylin’ in your matching hats. They look great!
Thanks! Ooh it does! It is motivation to keep getting things crossed off the list! Haha yes, they will come in handy on my cold Avon deliveries!
I like! Congrats on first finish!
Thank you! It is good motivation to keep me going!
they look great! I haven’t heard of the crab stitch before, must try that out
It is pretty baffling to get your head around…I had to watch it on Youtube several times first! It gives a really nice finish though 🙂 It was pretty straight forward once I got into the rhythm of it!
Pretty blues! I also love the look of the crab stitch – but it’s so counterintuitive that I call it the “making-me-crabby-stitch”. Thanks for the gallery idea too!
Hehe I didn’t find it too bad once I got into the rhythm…it really confused me having to work backwards though! It is a great idea! I don’t usually collate my finished projects anywhere so it will be nice to see my progress throughout the year!
these are so neat knitting stitches.. did you also chance your blog name too?? love the new name.. 😉
I have changed it! I’m glad you like it 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Congrats on completing your first project for 2014!! They turned out great 🙂
Thanks 😀 I’m really pleased with them 😀
Congratulations on your finish! Those look great. Isn’t it fantastic finishing something so quickly? I never manage that, I always pick large projects…
Thank you! Yes it is! Haha yes I usually opt for big projects too, I think that’s why I enjoyed this little one so much! I must find more smaller projects to complete quickly!
I love them! I especially love how they match each other! ^_^
Thank you 😀 Haha yes! I’m not sure how convinced James is by matching hats though 😉 hehe
Hehe! I’m sure he’s come around 😉 They look super comfy, I bet that could sway him!
He does like wearing his, just not come across an occasion to wear them together yet. We will be seeing my Grandma on my Avon round on Monday though so we will be doing some modelling for her!
Ahh well good luck on Monday then! 🙂
Haha thanks!