Hexagon dishcloth free pattern Tunisian crochet

This was my very first attempt to do the Tunisian crochet technique after finding a 5mm Tunisian hook tucked away among the many sets of needles in my mother’s old knitting bag.

I don’t recall ever having seen her use this long afghan hook, although my memory is full of scenes watching her use standard hooks to create large, beautiful afghans for her home and to give as gifts.

Nevertheless, I wanted to try out this newly discovered hook, and a dishcloth seemed like a useful item to make as a learning piece (that was also of a manageable scale to finish quickly and avoid possible discouragement!).

This Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth pattern by Khebhin Gibbons is easy to follow and a great project for beginning Tunisian crocheters like me.

Because I am notorious for not following directions (something about my stubborn streak), instead of whip-stitching the edges together after making the final wedge in the hexagon as instructed, I simply slip-stitched the final edge to the beginning edge.

This brought the unbroken working yarn back to the outside of the hexagon, where I then switched to a standard I hook and added a ruffle made of four rows of a graduated picot trim for a lacy effect.

Swirly spiral hat free pattern

This is a relatively easy, quick-to-make pattern that produces an elegant-looking hat that’s perfect to donate to patients going through chemotherapy: Divine Hat by Sarah Arnold. I made this one in just a few hours and plan to make many more to donate. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your patterns for free! Hat projects usually make great stash-busters as well.

I love the swirl effect and deep texture.

Pennsylvania hat

Inspired by Sheldon's red knitted hat on "The Big Bang Theory" and fashioned after designer Britta Graham's Textured Sherpa Earflap Hat, while on a trip to Pennsylvania, on a whim I bought a skein of Red Heart Cafe Latte yarn and started crocheting a winter hat in a similar shape as Sheldon's.

I wanted the crown to have a lot of texture, so I used a fpdc pattern, then switched to a smoother pattern for the brim and earflaps.

All that's left to do is to add a chunky tassel to the end of each earflap, but my ambition has stalled for the summer, so this hat will hibernate until the weather turns cold again.

I credit Britta's wonderfully written designs with helping me learn to crochet several years ago, and I highly recommend them to everyone! :-)

Here's a look at Sheldon's red hat:

Noodling with needles

My friend Terri sent me this funny. 😄

Shalom cardigan free pattern

I rarely venture into the brave world that is knitting or crocheting apparel items. Like many other people out there, I like the relatively quick satisfaction that comes from making hats and other small pieces that can be completed in, say, an evening or two.

But I recently had a rare weekend to myself and took advantage of it by making the Shalom Cardigan in what I estimate was 14 hours of work over two days.

This is an excellent free pattern designed by Meghan McFarlane. The pattern is VERY well written and error free. It includes nice touches that I appreciate, like a total stitch count on rows where additions have occurred. (So I can feel confident that things are progressing according to plan each step of the way!)

This project is great for stash-busting. It’s amazing to be able to create an apparel item from only about 1.5 skeins (or less than approximately 400 yards) of yarn.

Casting on:

Top yoke:

Sleeve openings made, starting on the body:

I like how the Red Heart Coffee Fleck yarn kind of matches my knitting needles: