crochet projects and vintage goodies

When we went to the beach I took some yarn, a few hooks, and a couple of crochet patterns. Since Valentine's Day is coming soon I decided to try my hand at this lovely crocheted heart pattern. I found it to be a good pattern for working on gauge as well as actually following pattern directions. All those abbreviations can be a little intimidating sometimes, but the more I learn the easier it becomes. Here's a peek at some of the hearts I've made so far. While we're talking crochet, I have been wanting to make this beautiful Lotus Flower Cuff designed by Marta of Creative Yarn. It looked a little scary to try since I'm so new to this whole crochet thing, but I printed out her free pattern anyway so when I was brave enough I could give it a try. Well, insert bravery, look what I made!I just love it and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I had anticipated. However, they are all supposed to be the same size...so can you tell which one I made first? Yep, the middle one. Thankfully the other two are the same size as I tried to be more consistent with my stitches. It is not by any means perfectly done like Marta's, but for a newbie like me...I'm not complaining. This is definitely a good pattern to use if you want to practice counting stitches and rounds. I must say...I see more of these in the near future!

Now for those vintage goodies! My sister-in-law was helping a neighbor clean out her apartment to move into a nursing home and that lovely neighbor wanted to share some of her sewing notions that she's had for a long, long, long time. Most of it is button-y goodness...take a look!

There were no dates on these buttons but the price on most of them was 29 cents! The designs and textures of these buttons were almost too much to handle. Most were made in the U.S.A. but there were a few, like the green ones at the top-center of the picture, that were made in Holland. I also got some snaps and a kit to make tiny covered buttons...all vintage. The other vintage thing I want to show you is a sewing pattern. Now, remember how I made like a zillion aprons last year? I love a cute apron. Okay, okay, take a gander at this beauty...

Oh man! This pattern is so old. I very carefully opened it up to see if there was a date on it anywhere, but I couldn't find one. What I did find was that the size - Large - was for a waist that is 30-32 inches. Large? Really? Another thing I found interesting was that the pattern pieces don't have any writing on them. No cutting lines, no seam allowance lines, no place on fold indicators, no notches....nothing, just plain paper. The pieces have been cut out already, but the only indication as to which piece you're looking at is a letter on each piece that is made of tiny holes, kinda like a mini hole puncher was used to form the shape of the letter. I must say, the pattern directions are pretty clear, but not as straight forwardly written as pattens are today. I have a feeling that there will be more aprons soon! Thanks Kim and Connie for the vintage goodies!

Have a happy Monday!