A Crocheted Crown Fit for a Prince or Princess

I found a tutorial to make a cute crocheted crown. My little princesses will love these.

Woo!

Today, I was introduced to a really funny and creative man. His name is Howie Woo. You can check out his website at WooWork.com . He makes very unique crochet items and presents them to the world in a humorous way. His site has become a favorite of mine.

I hope you enjoy him, too!

Footloose, but fancy free?

Finally, I have another project completed about which I can post. There has been such a drought. It's not that I haven't been working on knitting or crocheting, I just haven't finished anything! That is, until today.

I am happy to present a pair of Footloose Lacey Tube Socks that I made for my youngest dd. They are made with worsted weight yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft) and are to be used with her boots when she plays in the snow.

The pattern was a free Pattern of the Day from Annie's Attic. So, if you missed it and want to get it now, you need to buy it at e-PatternsCentral.com for $1.29 (US).

I'm making another pair for my oldest, but in purple - her favorite color.

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere

These pics are of Moms doing. She made 180 small crochet flowers for centerpieces for the conference.

She was inspired by a pattern, but then made modifications herself. To go along with the flowers, she made backs to hide the "mechanics" and leaves. So, that's 540 crocheted items. Busy bee, wasn't she?

Eat Your Veggies. Now.

I finally am able to put up a picture of the garden veggies I made for the conference. The only exception are the carrots, which Mom made.

This display was in front of the podium at the head table.

The cauliflower and the bumblebee are my own design. Everything else was borrowed from Alan Dart (ladybugs); Corn and Tomatoes, with some slight variations, from Garden Variety via MagKnits; Small Onion by Catherine Lindsay; and the Pumpkin by Magenta Lizard

Veggie Update

The June convention is fast approaching and I'm getting busier making fruits and veggies for the displays. One display will be a knit/crochet picnic layout. Another will be a display of the edible bounty that can come from out gardens. Some of the patterns will be my own designs, I hope.

So far, I have completed a pear, a strawberry, a pumpkin, a banana, an orange, cucumber slices, an onion and broccoli and cauliflower florets. For the picnic, I need to create a picnic basket, plates, cups, silverware, a picnic blanket, sandwiches, and an apple, plus some other surprises.

The garden bounty display will also feature radishes, carrots, turnips, a few more onions, and some other items I can't think of right now.

When I'm done, I hope to be able to post some links to the patterns I have used as well and write up the ones I design.

Crocheted Swedish Woven Heart

I have created my second original pattern. The first will never be written up, as I can't duplicate it. I am just not that good at filet crochet.

I will get a picture & the pattern posted asap.

Weasley Wizarding Wheezes Christmas Sampler

This group of knitted and crocheted food are part of a swap from swap-bot.com - Knit & Crochet Tasty Goodies. The recipient was also the co-ordinator and she said she was a fan of Harry Potter and loved miniature things. The candy cane is about 2 1/2" long to give you a bit of scale. I forgot to take a picture next to a coin.

Here is the text of the letter that I sent along with the "goodies".

Dear Molly,

Congratulations on being the recipient of the new Weasley Wizarding Wheezes Holiday sampler. This assortment of new W3 delights has been sent to you as a gift. Below, you will find a description of the new tasty treats and the resulting consequence of said morsels.

Merry Mint Creams : The eater frequently Ho Ho Hos for a period of 3 hours.

Red Reindeer Roll: The nose of the eater becomes a large round ball and glows with an inner red light for a period of 2 hours.

Plum Party Pudding: The eater becomes the life of the party, with random occurrences of the following: whistles of steam erupting from his/her ears, glowing eyes, uncontrollable urges to dance an Irish Jig, and produce mistletoe in order to kiss strangers. The effect lasts approximately 3 1/3 hours.

Frosty Candy Twist: The eater gains the power to chill glasses of pumpkin juice and butterbeer for a period of 1 hour.

Please tell all of your friends about this great new holiday gift. We are currently accepting pre-orders now.

Yours in jest,


CC
Delivery Specialist
Weasley Wizards Wheezes

Stripes or not...

Moms just informed me that she purchased a table-top loom for Christmas. I am excited to be getting it, as it will allow me to further my skills in the fiber arts. I won't be ready to try a spinning wheel for quite a long time - I'll leave that to Moms.

So, will this new, soon-to-receive addition, I thought dyeing my own yarn, spun by Moms of course, would be pretty interesting. I found this tutorial, which is more for knitting and crocheting, but who's to say I couldn't use the same technique to dye yarn for weaving.

You can check out the tutorial and learn something really cool! Thanks, Eunny!

Going Batty!

Well, I can't post a picture of my bats until I find the cord for my digital camera. Until then, I'll "borrow" the original image.

Here is the link to the pattern, tho, from SweaterBabe: Little Bats

I'm doing it again!

I said that I wanted to take a break from swaps, since I have so much else to do. Well, I didn't listen to myself again! I just joined another swap. It's Knit & Crochet Tastey Goodies. Fortunately, my swap partner likes minitures, Harry Potter and rainbow colors & color graduations.

I have an idea of what to do, thankfully. Now, I just need to get it done, amid the million of others things I must do!

Hogwarts Swaps!

Since both of my swap partners have received their packages, I can freely post pictures of what I sent. One swap was for Hogwarts House Pride. The other was for Weasley Household Items.

The first picture is of Arnold, Ginny's pet Pigmy Puff; Pig (Pigwidgeon), Ron's pet owl and golden snitch knitting needle point protectors. Arnold & Pig went to Astra and the point protectors to Lindsey.

The second picture is of Arnold in his home - Arnold's Abode. I gave him a water dish, a crocheted sleeping mat and a piece of crocheted celery. (The real stuff would have rotted! - Yuck!)

The third picture is a close-up of Pig.

The fourth picture is of a cauldron containing "third-eye" filled chocolate candies and Ravenclaw stitch markers. Some of the candy was "charmed" to give the eater a temporary "third-eye" in the middle of their forehead. Astra got a cauldron and candy and Lindsey got the cauldron, candy and stitch markers.

I told Astra that the cauldron was a toy cauldron used my Ron & Ginny to copy their older brothers and not harm themselves in the process.

I told Lindsey that the cauldron was travel size and could enlarge and shrink with the appropriate charm.

The last picture is a close-up of the stitch markers. They are done in Ravenclaw colors (movie blue & silver) with an eye on the middle bead. The eyes watch out for the likes of Cornish Pixies who like to unravel or knot-up works. Lindsey got the markers and point protectors because she likes to knit.

The only item I did not photograph was a 3-D snowy owl I made out of paper. I named her Astra and said she was Cedric Diggory's pet owl. Cedric is the most famous Ravenclaw, was Hogwarts original Tri-Wizard tournament champion and was killed by Peter Petegrew on the old Riddle estate.

The swaps were fun, but I'm not going to do two in one month again! I had to make these at the same time I was making the crochet tote for my sil!

Whew!

The $80 Tote

I made this tote for my sil. She had a baby girl, very healthy and so pretty!

This bag is for her, not just to be a baby bag. Unless she wants to use it as such. I wanted to give her a gift, as usually when a baby is born, almost all of the presents are for the newborn.

I made the bag out of Sugar 'N Cream yarn. I added rigidity by creating an inner shell of plastic mesh and then lined it with fabric. The response was fantastic. Both of my sils, including the one who had the baby, loved the bag.

The one who was not pregnant suggested I make them to sell. She commented she would pay $70 - $80 for one. Well, she won't have to, as she is getting one for her birthday. It made me, think, anyway.

(Another surprise was that my mil praised my work and suggested I make things to sell in craft shows before Christmas.

The pattern is free, found here. It was negotiated as being a free pattern from Lion Brand as it is included in the book HOOKED BAGS, from Creative Publishing international.

I left off the back pockets and the button clasp due to time.

The next one will be a dark brown base with light blue piping.

On to the next project! The work never ends!!!!

Baby Harp Seal

Here is a gift I just finished for my soon to be niece or nephew. My sil is expecting anytime in the next week or so.

I made it from Baby Homespun yarn, so it is washable and dryable. I also sewed on the eyes, nose and wiskers and the bow. I made every attempt to make sure this is as safe as possible for the baby. As an added benefit, the stuffing gets softer and a bit flufflier each time it is washed. Now, of course, the girls want one, too!

Drape (no, not curtains!) and the correct hook size

This is a fantastic tutorial about drape and how the size of a crochet hook can have a dramatic effect on it. Plus, there is a definition of "drape" when dealing with clothing.

Hangin' Tough - A Highly Subjective Primer on Crochet Drape and Hook Size

I'll be reading this one over and over again!

Happy Hooking!

When Pigs Fly .....

I found a cute free pattern the other day and just couldn't resist making it up. I've given one to my dh so he can take it to work. He can show it to people who want him to do the impossible. His response, of course, can be "When pigs fly ...." Besides, he's so cute!!!

I think I'll also make some for Christmas gifts.

Follow the link if you want to make one of your own. It took me less than a day to do it.

Aerial Pig

It's A Winner!

My filet Phaleonopsis won a blue ribbon! And, even better, it was awarded a rosette for Best of Original Art! Wow! I didn't expect this and I'm a bit overwhelmed. What great news after the events of the past few days. Something nice to get before going under the knife.

My first fair entry

My parents are taking the filet Phaleonopsis Orchid, my original design, entering it into the Orchid Show at the Indiana State Fair tomorrow. I hope that it is well received! I'm a bit nervous.

Harry Potter! (and knitting, too!)

I saw the movie, and it was awesome! I went to a theater that showed it in IMAX, with the 20 battle scene in 3D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH, it was great! It really felt like you were in the movie and could reach out and really touch the thestrals.

Many people (mainly crafters) have commented about the knitted/crocheted items in the film. Most notable was the shrug worn by the character Luna Lovegood.

A pattern for a really close look-alike item can be found here:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=184172.0

I think I have also discovered the stitch that was used to create Luna's sweater for the battle scene. I won't disclose it yet, as I want to try a swatch first and then attempt to create the sweater itself.

I'm also looking for pictures of the hats, scarves, sweaters & hoodies found in the film.

Remember,
"You're as sane as I am." - Luna Lovegood

Filet crochet, not mignon or sole

This is partially so I don't lose this info, but also in case anyone would want it. (Not that anyone reads my blog but me.) :-(

For Filet Crochet: to calculate length of foundation,count numbers of square in row 1,multiply by 3 anad add one more to ch