Deeply Textured Hat

Here's another potential guy hat. This time I used the Deeply Textured Hat pattern by Amy Depew over at The Laughing Willow. I initially made a purple and white version of this for my mom and she absolutely loved it. So I figured the Safe Harbor folks will too! This one is dark brown (darker than the picture shows) and black. The only changes I made to the original pattern were to start with a magic loop, crochet it in the round, and using an I hook instead of a J hook. I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn brand. I love this pattern! It's quick and - most importantly - interesting!

Time on this project: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Time total: 84 hours, 25 minutes

Easiest Headwrap Ever

Headbands are great uses for those half-finished skeins of yarn lying around. I made this one with some stash Red Heart yarn, an H hook, and the Easiest Headwrap Ever pattern from Ravelry. The only adjustment I made was to freehand the edges closed instead of using a button. Honestly, the pattern was pretty mediocre. I probably won't use it again. Also, the picture below doesn't show the color well - the yarn is more of a light moss green.

Time on this project: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Time total: 82 hours, 15 minutes

Skater Beanie

I've crocheted several items for girls during the course of this Odyssey project, so I figured it was about time for me to crochet a guy item. Using some Red Heart worsted weight stash yarn and an I hook, I made this Skater Beanie from Ravelry. The pattern is written for DK weight yarn, so I stopped the increase rows at round 6 since I used worsted weight. Overall, I liked this pattern. It was simple, quick, and the final project looks nice.

Time on this project: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Time total: 80 hours

Cozy Flowered Headband

Along with slouchy hats, headbands are a popular item right now. Especially with the couple of freezing cold weeks we've had this winter in Arkansas! I used this Cozy Flowered Headband pattern on Ravelry, an I hook, and some Caron Simply Soft yarn from my stash. The yarn skeins were the passion and lavender colorways from Caron. The headband pattern itself was mediocre, but I adore the flower pattern! I've used it on a few other projects as well. Instead of using a button to close the headband, I free-handed a seam.

Time on this project: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Time total: 78 hours, 55 minutes

Kisses Slouchy Beanie

It seems like slouchy hats are all the rage right now. I found this Kisses Slouchy Beanie pattern on Ravelry (of course!) as a free download. This is the first slouchy hat I've ever crocheted, and I have to say it was a really fun project! The crossed stitches pattern was also new to me. I found it interesting and enjoyable, and I'd like to use it for a cowl or something in the future. I used some stash Red Heart Super Saver Solids yarn and an H hook.

Time on this project: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Time total: 76 hours, 10 minutes

Effortless Cowl

I went to Michael's to browse for more yarn and found some gorgeous Loops and Threads Charisma yarn on sale for half off. Each skein was only $1.25! I had never crocheted with bulky yarn before, so I got a few skeins to try it out. I chose this Effortless Cowl pattern. Based on Ravelry user comments, I chained 130 for the foundation instead of the pattern's recommended 87. I'm glad I did this, since it's just long enough to loop twice around my neck. 87 chains would have been far too short.

Overall, I decided that bulky yarn is sometimes difficult to work with. However, the difficulty could be due to the pattern - half double crochet (hdc) stitches can be tricky with the best yarn. The yarn itself is incredibly soft and a much nicer color than the photo represents. 

Time on this project: 4 hours, 10 minutes

Time total: 71 hours, 40 minutes

Ruffled Blankie

I really enjoyed making this ruffled blankie. The ruffled border was lots of fun to crochet and definitely spruced up the simple base pattern. I used worsted weight lavender yarn from Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn! brand, since it tends to be softer than Red Heart yarn.

Time on this project: 9 hours, 40 minutes
Time total: 67 hours, 30 minutes