Scouting Sunday: Craft Your Fitness Finds

Since this month here at This Crafting Life is all about New Year's Resolutions and New Projects, I thought I'd base my Scouting Sunday off of one of the world's most popular New Year's Resolutions:  Losing Weight, Getting Healthy and Fitness.  Today, I bring you crochet and knit projects from around Ravelry that all pertain to fitness in some way!

                                                         Yoga Socks

I really love yoga socks.  I love being barefoot, but I don't like it when I get cold.  I also love Yoga, so wearing these while I'm doing yoga makes it so my feet aren't as cold and I still have a great grip.  I love this crochet pattern and may have to try it out once my WIP's are all caught up!

To go with your yoga socks, you might as well make yourself a nice yoga mat carry case!  This way you can go in style and not have to carry that roll around!!!

Love listening to music while on the run, but hate the sweaty feeling of those neoprene bands?  Make your own out of soft yarn and a small strip of velcro and you'll be running in comfort in no time!!!            

Are you a cold weather runner?  Knit yourself this awesome run to live hat!

Here's another functional mp3 carrier, this time in knit!

 Need to wear a hat but hate the bulky feeling of your ponytail under the hat?  Here's one solution for you:

 And here's another!!!

And this clever hat has a built in pocket for those minimalist runners who only want to carry a key, and maybe a little cash.

Why not bring a little fancy and comfort to your bike at the same time?  I have seen a ton of great fancy yarns that would look awesome for those tassels!!!

Last, but not least, here's a great little carry case for your favorite water bottle when you're out at the gym or on long hikes!                               

Have you seen any great crochet or knit projects for the fitness fanatic?  If so, leave a comment below!!!!

WIP Resolution Mission 2015 Part 2

Work in Progress Inspiration Post Part 2

(there's more parts to come, it's bound to get scary)

When I left you last, I had shared 5 blankets that I had been working on and now are sitting in stasis in bins that are cluttering up my closet.  Now I'm moving along to wearable crochet in my quest to share with you the ridiculous amount of UFO's I have laying around my house and to clear them out.

WIP #7 and WIP #8

Curly Scarves

These two each get their own number, because they are individual scarves, though I'll talk about them together because they are in essence, the same type of item.  I made the blue one and ran out of yarn before I finished and never went back with more yarn or a second color.  

the purple one, I wanted it to have a black core so it peeked out through the purple, but I got scared after I did a row of purples because I didn't think that the black would still show through.  So I said, I'm calling it done.  Then I didn't like it.  I need to either go back with purple or do another row of black and then a row of purple. 

WIP #9

Gator Scoodie

This is another woeful story of running out of yarn.  I was making this gator scoodie for my daughter (probably about a year or two ago) because her school mascot is a gator.  I got the hood part complete and went to work on the scarf part only to run out of yarn.  When I pulled this out, she remembered it, and I told her I was going to finish it and she was blunt and told me she didn't really want it anymore.  Kids.  I will still finish it because I want to see the idea carried out, but might sell it in my shop or gift it this year.

WIP #10

Katniss Cowl

So I love the Hunger Games.  I also Love Love Love the cowl that Katniss wears in the second movie.  I've seen several renditions of it - such as this one:

or this one:

But am not a fan of either one of them completely.  I like the body of the first one (though I would make it a little longer so it would swing lower) and I like the cowl off of the second one.  So I set forth to try and make one, combining the factors that I liked from each of them.

When I finished the cowl:

I tried it on and I was disappointed.  I don't think I made it thick enough, and I also think I made it too wide because it tries to come down over my shoulders when I put it on.  I had barely cast on the body part:

when I discovered this and by then it was too late.  It went in a box and got shoved in my closet.   I want to try to make this again, but I'm going to have to frog the cowl (hopefully I can just knit from it) and will have to make the body piece.

WIP #11

Spiderweb shawl

I am not sure at all what pattern this is, if I messed it up, nor can I remember what I was making it for.  It's this random half finished shawl that I found at the bottom of one of the bins.  When I put it over my shoulders, it's kind of a cute little caplet.  I think it needs an sc trim on the flat edge, and some buttons.  I also may try to dye it to give it some life.  Then, on to gifting or selling.  :)

So there you have 6 more WIP's that I have to work on this year, and that brings me up to 11 UFO's.  There's much more to come!  Have you tried any of these patterns?  Are you working on UFO's this year?  Leave a comment below!

Diamonds in the Square Granny Afghan block {Crochet Pattern}

I wrote this pattern for a unique Granny square while trying to match a pattern from a picture.  I am working on a blanket for my older daughter (she wanted a blanket just like her little sister has) and I had found this picture that I really liked.  I tried this square, and realized it wasn't quite right for what I wanted, but realized that I had created a new granny square that would be really unique to piece together into a full sized afghan.

Diamond in the Square Crochet Motif

Materials:
Several colors of worsted weight yarn.  I used Red Heart because that's what I had available and I have lots of it.  You can use more or less colors than I did and achieve a different effect.
Size H hook or to achieve your desired gauge

Center Square Section:

Ch 3
R1: 2 dc in first ch, ch2, 3 dc in same ch again, ch2, 3 dc in same ch again, ch 2, 3 dc in same ch again, ch 2 and join with top of ch 3.
R2: sl st over to the first ch2 space.  ch 3, 2dc, ch2, 3dc, ch 1, *in next ch 2 space, 3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1* repeat around, join to top of ch 3
*Join next color in any ch 2 space (these will be the corners for now)*
R3: ch3, 2dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1, *in next ch1 space, 3dc, ch1, in "corner" ch 2 space, 3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1* repeat around, join to top of ch 3
R4: sl st over to corner ch2 space, ch 3, 2dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1, *in next ch1 space, 3dc, ch1, next ch1 space, 3dc, ch1, next "corner" ch2 space, 3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1* repeat around, join to top of ch3.


*Join next color in ch1 space that is in the middle of one of the square sides- this will make one of the triangle sections to form the new square*

Triangle attachment (work on each of four sides of the Center Square Section)

R1: in same space as joining, ch3, 2dc, ch2, 3dc.  sl st into a space on the wall of the square (be careful not to stretch it too far, you want the triangle to match up on the side as far as length goes.

R2: ch3, turn, in same space, 2dc, ch1, in ch2 space, 3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch1, in top of ch3 from previous row dc in this manner:  YO, insert hook through top of ch3 from beginning of prior row and through a point in the wall of the square equivalent to where you attached the top of the row on the other side, YO, pull through both square and top of ch3, progress with dc as normal. 2dc more in same space, then join top of the row to a suitable place on the "wall" of the square to attach.

R3: ch3, turn, in same space, 2dc, ch1, 3dc in ch 1 space, ch1, (3dc, ch2, 3dc)in ch2 space, ch1, 3 dc in ch 1 space, ch 1, in top of ch3 from previous row dc in this manner:  YO, insert hook through top of ch3 from beginning of prior row and through a point in the wall of the square equivalent to where you attached the top of the row on the other side, YO, pull through both square and top of ch3, progress with dc as normal. 2dc more in same space, then join top of the row to a suitable place on the "wall" of the square to attach.  FO.

Repeat Triangle Attachment on each side of the square.   On last side, do not break off yarn.  Your yarn should be in the point of what was the square after the first section.  Continue on with this next round:

Final Round: ch3, 2dc in same sp, ch1, (3dc in next ch 1 space, ch 1) twice, *in ch2 space, 3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch 1, (in next ch 1 space, 3dc, ch 1) 5 times*, repeat from * two more times, (3dc, ch 1) in remaining two ch 1 spaces.  Join to top of ch 3 from beginning of round.  FO.

WIP Resolution: Some UFO Blankets

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year is to clear out my stash of WIP's.  Let me tell you a horrible secret.  Truly, Truly Horrible.  Work in Progress projects take up three tubs in my closet.  

Eeep!

I've resolved that I am going to try and finish as many as I can - either for myself or to gift - or barring that, I'm going to frog some pieces and repurpose their yarn for my scrapghan (which takes up a whole separate tub, so I guess I have four tubs)  I decided to chronicle my journey through the past to projects unfinished.  I hope that I'm not the only person this insane to have these many projects, but also that I maybe inspire my readers to finish some of their projects!!!

WIP  #1

The Bernat Waverly Mystery Crochet Along

Let me start by saying, these are all finished motifs.  I did FINISH the crochet along.  In fact, I did motifs enough for TWO different blankets. But when they posted pictures of how they were supposed to go together, I tried every possible combination and I HATED them all.  I thought it looked slapped together and didn't like any configuration that anyone had posted.  I decided to box it up and come back later to see if I could make a few more motifs in different colors to make it look like something I liked better. 

Here's what the original design by Bernat looked like:

I just don't like the clusters of color in the middle of the blanket.  

Here are my motifs from the CAL:

Like I said, I was doing two blankets.  One was blues and white, and the other was black, grey, white and gold.  After this blanket had sat in a box forever, I had a request for a custom baby blanket.  I found the white motifs and stole a bunch of them for this new blanket (The Midorie Blanket)

I have yet to remake those motifs, and I don't know if I will, either.  

My plan for finishing this blanket is to first try a bunch of different combinations, to decide how I like them to be arranged, and then to make what I need to fill in on the blanket.

WIP #2

Basketweave Crochet Blanket

I hate this blanket.  If I could start it over, I'd use a gigantic crochet hook.  It's crocheted too tightly to be a comfy blanky, imho, and I am not sure what I plan on doing with this one.  I might attach the squares that I have and donate it to my children for their baby dolls.

WIP #3

Double Sided Tardis Blanket

What the finished product will look like:

So I love the look and feel of this two inches of blanket.  It is going to take me forever, especially since I'm going to need to practice the double knitting again before I begin work again, plus I think I'm going to have to go buy more yarn, as I stole all of the black while I was working on Christmas projects.  This is part of why I'm doing this though, to make sure I have what I need.

WIP #4

The Groovyghan

I've been working on this one for so long that the website has actually shut down.  I had to use the internet wayback machine in order to find the pattern again to save it for this purpose.  I gave up on this one when I worked this part:

I stopped because I was not doing it evenly and gave up.  I packed up what I had made into a box and left it for years.

I plan on trying to finish the groovyghan, and I will probably gift this come Christmas time this year!!

WIP #5

Hexi-puff Scrapghan

I have a scrapghan in crochet and one in knit.  The knit one has far less completed on it than the crochet one, but I still love these little hexipuffs.  I have designed for a bunch of them, and love that each one can be so personalized.  I also plan on letting the kids each design some. :)

So there you have it, the first 5 WIP's that I will discuss from my ridiculous stash.  Have any of you made these?  Do you have any New Years Finishing Resolutions?  Leave a comment below!!

New Year's Day and I Find Myself Unfocused...

Here I sit, at the end of the first day of 2015.  

I've had this post open and blank all day, as I knew I wanted to write something.

But I find myself unfocused. 

I have lots of goals and ambitions and dreams and desires for 2015, but when I look at them all, they seem too big.  It seems unmanageable.  

Lets face it though, most dreams seem unmanageable, since that's what they are... dreams.

We all know (or have been told) that dreams can come true.  

I sure hope so.  

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For my own posterity's sake, I'm writing my New Years "Goals" here, so I can, as I always do, pop back and remember them, work on them and maybe come one step closer to achieving them.

Run.... or maybe Walk... or merely survive a 5k.

Bike at least 500 miles.

Work through all my yarn WIP's.

Create one new item for sale each day.

Organize my garage, storage closet, and all my yarn/craft items.

Live life to the fullest with my children and family.

Organize my computer contents!

Here's to all the dreams you may have for this wonderful 2015!!!

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