Crocheted Lapghan for my Grandma

I found this wonderful and easy Crocheted Wheelchair Lapghan pattern on Kathy's Crochet Cabin blogspot. I followed her pattern and made this one for my Grandma.

It's made in all double crochet stiches--my favorite!

Kathy's pattern uses an "I"  a size "J" hook and starts with a chain of 104.

Her pattern is 41 rows but I made mine a little bit wider at 53 rows.

The finished size of my Lapghan (including the border) is 32"x35".

I just used what yarn I had and that I liked. I made it out of soft yarn for Grandma.

The pink was "I Love This Yarn". The yellow was some thriftstore yarn called "TLC Essentials". I'm not sure what the green was as it didnt have a label on it anymore, but it was very soft--more than likely it was some leftover "I Love This Yarn". The varigated didnt have a label anymore either but I think it was Red Heart.  And the white border was "I Love This Yarn".

I guess I should have just said it was made mostly out of soft yarn called "I Love This Yarn." LOL :)

I crocheted 17 rows of pink, 20 rows of yellow, 8 rows of green, 8 rows of varigated for a total of 53 rows, and then the white border.

I didnt start with a full skein of yarn with any of the colors so if I had to guess how much yarn I used, here is my best guess:

•  Pink, 4 oz
• Yellow, 5 oz
• Green, 2-3 oz
• Varigated, 2-3 oz
• White, 3 oz

So, a generous guess of total amount of yarn that I used would be 18 oz.

If you'd like Kathy's Wheelchair Lapghan pattern, please visit Kathy's Crochet Cabin and scroll down the right side and look for her "MY PATTERNS"  then look for "WHEELCHAIR LAPGHAN".
Thank you so much Kathy for the lovely pattern!  It was fast and easy to make. :)

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Cotton Crochet Dish Rags out of Sweaters

These I've made out of Crochet Cotton but below I'll show you the one's I made out of an old cotton sweater.

Assorted Dish Rags made out of Crochet Cotton



Pink Dish Rag made out of Crochet Cotton

Varigated Dish Rag made out of Crochet Cotton

My latest love is to unravel cotton sweaters and crochet something new, and in this case - Dish Rags.  I haven't bought dish rags from the store for years. I crochet my own. It's just a simple double crochet stitch. I suppose I can give you the pattern at the end of this post. I like to make these because they're fast, I don't have to keep track of rows or stitches, and I can sit in the front room with the rest of the family and crochet while we all watch TV.

I like to make dish rags out of sweaters made out of cotton. I think these make even better dish rags than dish rags make of of 100% crochet cotton such as Peaches and Cream. And you can make a LOT of dish rags out of one sweater, too! Find a sweater that is knitted. Rip the seams and unravel. There are lots of other sites where you can find more indepth instuctions about selecting a good sweater to unravel.

Okay, I've completely unraveled one sleeve and I'm ready to crochet. Yeah! :)

I've made one dish rag out of sleeve and still have plenty of more yarn to make another one.

Another dish rag I've made out of the same sleeve.

I've unraveled the whole sweater and made lots of dish rags and given lots away, too.

I'm getting down to the nitty-gritty last of my sweater yarn. I tried to find another sweater at the thrift store but havent had much luck. I'll probably have to wait until Fall when they put their sweaters back out again. When they put their sweaters back out to sell, this time I'll know exactly what I'm looking for and I'll buy a few to last me the whole year.

FREE DISH RAG PATTERN

I like to use a "G" hook.

I chain about  25 to 28 chains (I dont remember exactly, and it doesnt matter really).

Then dc in the 3rd ch from hook and dc in each ch to the end of the row, ch 3, turn.

Dc in each dc across. Keep doing this until you've got a square piece of cloth. 

Now dc evenly all the way around, crocheting 3 dc in each corner.

Then sc in bl (back loops only) all the way around, crocheting 3 sc in each corner. Tie off and weave in loose ends.

CROCHET RAG RUG MADE OUT OF OLD SWEATER

The next pic below was a different sweater (obviously) but I wanted to show it to you. This sweater was made out of a thicker cotton. This rug is made out of that whole sweater. I made it to be a rug, but I've found that I've since been using it as a cushion cover on my recliner. It's good for either. I like it very much. It was just a simple double crochet. If I remember correctly it's roughly 70 stitches across and 45 rows, and then I just took some black Red Heart yarn and single crocheted all around it with 3 stitches in each corner.  I think I used an "I" sized hook.

What's your favorite thing to crochet? 
Your favorite yarn? 
Your favorite hook size/brand?

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Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Cron

Who can resist the intriging title and that cute little boy on the cover of this book?  Not me! He's even waving at me. What a doll! :)

Cron’s prose reminds me of old black and white family TV shows where it has a voice narrator telling you what the boy is thinking.

At Cron’s first Catholic Holy Communion he describes it as: “It’s the liturgical equivalent of becoming a “made man” in the Mafia.” I’m thinking, “Wow! A religious ceremony where you associate it to being inducted into the mob? Really?”

How does Cron really know for sure that his dad worked for the CIA? His dad’s work was a big secret, and no one knew who all those men in suits were at his dad’s funeral. Maybe his dad actually was a member of the mob, and maybe as a boy Cron invented the CIA job story for his dad so he would have something to tell his friends when they asked what his dad did for a living. The CIA sounds better than the Mafia. Right?

Basically, all Cron wanted to hear his father say before he died was a simple, “I’m sorry, Son, and I love you.”, but unfortunately Cron’s father never gave him that. All he said was, “Nothing’s perfect, Son.”  Okay, so later in the chapters when Cron says he heard a voice say “Forgive me, Son”, was that actually God’s voice whispering in his ear telling him what he needed to hear from his own father many years earlier? Because we all know that God doesn’t need OUR forgiveness.

I think Cron is an excellent writer and story teller. He’s very good at interweaving stories. I thought it was a good read, and I would recommend this book to anyone.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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