Rabbit

I made one rabbit for a friend who has just had a baby girl, however.........
My daughter has a thing for rabbits so she has claimed it so I had to make another. That was fine by me though as I wasn't very happy with the firt one. I substitued 2 strands of 8ply for the recommended yarn and at the top of the head the stuffing could be seen.




I found the pattern on Ravelry. There are instructions for knit or crochet.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bunny-blanket-buddy---crochet

Here is the link for the pattern.

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/50722-2.html?noImages=

I think in the photo you can see the stuffing.
On my second attempt I made a few changes to the pattern. For the first row I did three sc into the second chain from the hook. I left out all the 1 ch spaces. I evened out the arms by doing 4 rows on each and I completely reworked the head.
I changed down to a 6.5mm hook and with two strands together still, I worked 2 scs into each sc in both the front and then the back loos. For the next 10 rows I just went around the head with a sc in each sc. I then changed to *2sctog, sc* all the way around until I had just a small hole left.
It took a bit longer, used a bit more yarn but the results are much better. I can see no stuffing and there was more stitches to embrodier the face as well.




I think I will be making more of these. It took less than 3 hours with the changes so it is a great gift for a newborn. I will have to make one for my new addition whilst the pattern is still fresh.
:D

Amelies shrug

Amelies birthday was coming up so I made her this shrug from 5ply cleckhetons crepe wool. I think we got this wool from an op shop for next to nothing. The edging was done with "Watermelon" which was left over handdyed 8ply crepe.

The pattern comes from the book, "Crochet for Babies" by Bobbie Matela and the name of the shrug is Sazzy Style Sweater.
http://www.amazon.com/Crochet-Babies-Bobbie-Matela/dp/1573672610/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9396670-5036642?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188790190&sr=8-1

The Ravelry link is

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sassy-style-sweater

I think it turned out well. The pattern was easy. Apparently Amelie has worn it a lot :D Her family are going to Austria for Christmas, so hopefully this will fit for then and the Australian winter after.

Birthing bundle

Last month I did Georgina Kellys "Art of Birthing" course. It is based on the book "Birthing from Within" by Pam England. This is a great book that lets you explore some of the myths surrounding birth. Excellent if you have had a previous traumatic birth, but a must read for all pregnant women.
Georginas class was very good. I was led gently into exploring my past births and getting in touch with my intuition for this upcoming birth. If you are interested in the course, leave a comment and I will email you some information.

http://www.capersbookstore.com.au/scripts/shop_item.asp?by=a2z&item=13

Anyway, as part of the course we had to create a birth bundle. Our instructions were to find something that represented the feminine, the masculine and the new baby. We were to wrap the bundle in "a precious cloth" so of course to me that meant something I had crochetted. Here is what I came up with.

New Tam pattern

I know I am a terrible blogger. The truth of it is that I am pregnant and I have trouble creating crochet whilst I create life within me. Anyway, over the last two weeks I seem to have my mojo back and I have been crochetting every night. Of course I have given away a couple of things without taking photos of them first, but hopefully I will be able to show everything off in here over the next couple of weeks.

This is an almost finished tam I am making for a friend in Perth. It is made out of Pakchu cotton which is organic fair trade cotton from Peru.
http://www.ecoyarns.com.au/index.php?main_page=page&id=4&chapter=0&zenid=bdcc7fbf521813deb514709adcb2b089
It is very soft but the colours are a bit disappointing. We wanted a stronger chocolate and dark olive and in the photos that was what it looked like, but sadly when it turned up it looked a bit pucey. It took me ages to work out how to get the colours to work together.

Guess what I did?

It was just to big to do anything else. I am a perfectionist and it was quite carthartic to frog it. I am going to start again tomorrow. I have an invitualation job (uni exam) that will take 3 hours, so I am kid free with nothing to do. It will be bliss. I can't believe I get paid for it! I will post pictures when I have some.
:D

Tall Latte - ARGH!

I feel in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it.
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/crochet/crocheted_v_neck_pullover.php

I bought the book then bought the yarn and then got my friend, who is a dressmaker, to measure me. The pattern state that if you don't want a figure hugging jumper then to go up a size. I did a gauge test and even did a swatch test with the contrasting colour.



I did that and realised by the time I got to the underarms that it was way to big, so I frogged it and started again. The size down is written poorly. There are quite a few pattern row that simply don't work. I doubt it was tested once typed out, because one of the rows is obvioulsy half missing. Having already started the size up I improvised those rows. The whole way through I had one extra pattern repeat which is about an inch to inch and half (American pattern). Now I have measured it and it is about an inch - inch and half bigger than it is supposed to be, but on me it feel huge. I still need to do the sleeves and the neckline.

It doesn't look too bad right?

Again, not too bad right?

Hello? Can you see the extra material now?

OK, now here is me holding at least 6 inches in at the back?

Does it look better or is this going to make me look fatter?

And that is my grumpy face! LOL

Now looking at these pictures I am thinking it doesn't look that bad, but it does feel huge. I think I should frog it and start again a size smaller, but this would be a size smaller than my measurements as well. I seriously think that won't be a problem because there is a lot of room in this one. Anyway I need your help! Does it look huge and would I be better to frog the lot?Another alternative would be to go back to the hip shaping and take that out. It would save about 4 - 6 inches, but I worry that it would look boxy.


Can anyone give me some advice please?

Baby Jacket

Wow I am a terrible blogger. I seem to be driven to crochet for hours for a whole month and I don't want to stop to blog it all.
I am currently persisting my way through Tall Latte by Doris Chan. I am almost finished my third attempt and I am only mildly happy with the results. Don't be surprised if I frog it for a third time. I think I need to go down a size again. I should take a photo and let you all decide what I should do.....
I have also made a shrug for Amelies birthday in August. I just need to weave in the ends and take some photos of her with it on before I blog it.

I made this baby jacket for my niece who has just turned one. The pattern came from "Crochet for Babies" and is called the Soft Shells Jacket. This is the pattern link on Ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/soft-shells-layette
Anyway, as it is so warm here in QLD I decided to use Bendigo 8ply cotton in the shade of Lavender. It was a well written pattern and the jacket turned out perfectly. It fits like a dream. Sadly I didn't grab a shot of Shannon wearing it. :( I may make one of these for my precious angel as well.

Finger Knitting

A friend was looking for something to do with her 6 year old daughter on Intuitive Parenting

http://www.intuitiveparenting.info/forum.php

so I suggested Finger Knitting and I found a tute link for her on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3LKAlDz9ig

So can you guess what happened next......
Yes next thing I have wool in my hand and I am finger knitting.
I made Aimee a cute scarf in less than half an hour! and that included running to get the wool and learning how to do it.
Here is a photo of me modelling the scarf. Not much of a model for a Saturday afternoon. At least I put on a descent shirt LOL


Now I just need to find a kid that I can teach. I am itching to teach this and introduce a child to the love of wool. Unfortunately, I think my two are a little bit too little for it.

Hats and Scarves

We are off to Adelaide on Sunday. My aunty tells me it is very cold for Queenslanders in Adelaide, so I whipped up some hats and scarves for myself and the children.



Aren't they adorable! Can you tell it is still hot here in Queensland?
The scarves were simple and worked up really quickly, so Sharon was totally telling the truth when she called this pattern "The One Hour Scarf." This is a great pattern for a beginner and it is also a wonder stash buster.

http://laughingpurplegoldfish.blogspot.com/2008/03/one-hour-scarf.html

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/one-hour-scarf

To be honest Logan hat was a bit of a PITA. I made the toddler size but it was far too small, more suited to a baby. I have tried to give it away to a couple of kids under 2 and it is too small for them :( I will give it away as a gift so it won't be wasted. This could have been because my gauge was wrong. To be honest I didn't check it and I do have a tight gauge. The second hat I made was a womens size. As you can see it fits, but the brim and the crown are too big. If I was to make it again, I would make the brim 2.5cm shorter and the crown about 5cm shorter. I would also do it in hdc as the sc was very slow. This is a good beginner pattern.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gotcha-covered-2

http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Knitting/Projects/Accessories/LW1268+Gotcha+Covered+1.htm

Aimees hat was a dream. The pattern was interesting but easy and very quick to work up. This hat took less than two hours and I was looking after the kids whilst I made it. It looks great. It is probably a bit too hard for a beginner, but someone with a bit more than beginner knowledge would be able to make this and impress their mates as this looks a lot harder than it is. I highly recommend this pattern.

http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=0

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/divine-hat-2

Here am I modelling the same hat. I made this one using 12ply Bendigo Wool. I think the cables stand out more with the thicker yarn and I would definitely use this yarn if I was making this hat for a man.

Armegins Longies

Anyone who pays attention around here, will have noticed that I have had longies for Armegin in my progress bar for about a year now. I promised them for Sheryn for his birthday last year and weren't finished. I had the bright idea of creating a reversible pattern for longies as there is little on the market for the boys. The problem was the number of colour changes created bulk number of ends to be woven in, which keep popping out and making the whole thing look messy. Anyway, I put it in the cupboard to hibernate whilst I searched, thought and pondered what to do. Anyway I finally came up with a solution when I encountered the same problem with Aimees dress (Yes, that is hibernating as well, but not for the same reason) So anyway, long story short, here are the finished, sigh on relief, longies! and they are only a week late LOL

I really want to write up the pattern for these as I do think they are worth it. I haven't seen anything on the market like it, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough?

Aimee crochet

I have mentioned a few times about my daughters fascination with crochet. When I crochet she plays with my hook case and rearranges everything. She particularly likes my stitch markers and she seems to have hidden most of them somewhere. I am still searching. She insists that everything I make is for her and gets quite annoyed when she sees me crochetting something that is not pink. LOL She often demands wool and takes one of my hooks and sits next to me and pretends to crochet. Sometimes I go to get a cup of tea to return to her sitting in my chair working dilligently on my project. LOL Hence why I always pull the yarn through my last loop. Here are a couple of snap shots of her in action this afternoon. She has claimed a little flower I made as her own and I think she even believes she made it. :D

Natcromo - Freeform

I have never created freeform crochet before but I have often admired it. I particularly like Prudence Mapstones freeform.

http://www.knotjustknitting.com/

I would love to do one of her classes at Thread n More. One day, maybe for Sheryns birthday, or Mothers Day. Anyway I digress......

Kaet from Ravelry has created a freeform activity where we do a little freeform everyday. Everyday we change hook sizes or yarn and do a stitch according to a random number selector. If you want to have a go you can find the instructions here. This is not a Ravelry link so anyone can get involved.

http://kaet.wordpress.com/natcromo-freeform-cal-pattern/

If you are a member of Ravelry here is the link to the project page on Ravelry so you can see everyones progress.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/natcromo-freeform-game-cal-pattern/people?page=2

And here are a couple of photos taken so far of mine.

Week 1

Week 2

I have combined this project with the March Eco Challenge on Intuitive Parenting

http://www.intuitiveparenting.info/showthread.php?t=1772&page=2



Eilleen challenged us all to Upcycle; that is to make something worthless into something worth something. I pledged to do something with all of my wool scraps. Some of my scraps are up to half a ball and some are only as long as my arm. I have made more colour changes than Kaet has instructed us to as a result.

The kids have really gotten into this, especially Aimee. She often brings me the wool, project and my hook case to the computer. If she sees me working on it she will pull out the next colour she thinks I should use and she gets the scissors ready to cut the wool for me when I end it. LOL She is a budding hooker and I have no doubt she will be able to make something with a hook before she can read. LOL

Anyway, I am really enjoying it. It is a different sort of crochet for me as I don't have a vision of what it will turn out like or be.

I am thinking it will make a great play rug for a baby. I can see a baby crawling or rolling over to grab some part of the rug that has taken their eye. The other thing I have considered is making a denim bag out of an old denim skirt I have and sewing the finished piece onto it.

So it is my first freeform......

What do you think? What should I make out of it? I am open to all suggestion + I am curious to see who reads my neglected blog. LOL

Easy Peasy Headband

I made this really simple headband the other night. It is the second one I have made and both have turned out really soft and hold my hair back well. I used a ribbed stitch which I also like to think of as crochet elastic, as it has a bit of stretch in it. I use this stitch a lot. It seems to be a foundation stitch of my patterns. This is super quick and easy, so perfect for anyone new to crochet.

Easy Peasy Headband

8 ply cotton - not a great amount is needed. This is a great way to use up left over yarn.

Size 4mm Hook

Sc = single crochet

To Begin:

Chain 5

Row 1: Sc in second chain from hook and sc in each ch to end (4 sc) 1ch, turn.

Row 2: Skip first sc. Sc in the back loop each sc, ending with a sc in the turning 1 ch. (4 sc) 1 ch, turn.

Row 3 - 68 : Repeat row 2.

Fasten off.

As you are nearing the 68th row check the headband by wrapping it around your head. When you have about a 2.5cm gap left between the ends, without stretching, then it is big enough.

Join the ends together with sc and weave in the ends.

Viola! One headband ready to wear.

I embellished my headband with a simple heart. The free pattern can be found here

http://www.vogueknitting.com/patterns/free/2008/crochethearts.pdf

Here is another great website with a free pattern for embellishing crochet.

http://myoriginalpatterns.blogspot.com/2005/12/appliques-for-baby-items.html

If you would prefer your headband to be wider, then just add more chains to your foundation. I made one for Mum using 9 chains to begin with. She says it is the perfect width.

Easy Bunny

Just in time to get started for Easter......

I found this great little tutorial on how to make this bunny. It is a great project for someone just starting to knit or crochet and it works up easily in one night. If you already have gauge squares then you can use those too.

http://www.artsy-fartsy-mama.com/index.php?itemid=162

It is a knitting pattern, but as it starts as a square it can easily be adapted to crochet.

I used a 4mm hook and 8 ply wool and single crochet for mine. The pattern does need a bit a stretch. If I was to make it again I would use a 5mm hook and a hdc or probably even a ribbed stitch.

I really sucks at embroidery so the facial features came out looking a little evil. I will name him Evilbunny LOL