Taffyghan Part 1

I have seen a lot of pretty granny patterns and other afghan patterns on Ravelry, and I have been wanting to start trying them out.  I had never done any "granny" crocheting, but I decided to start with stitching that type of afghan.  Eventually, I would like to try some other afghan types like blocks, granny squares, ripples stitch, etc.  If I can get this granny square thing down, then I would really like to make a Mario themed granny square blanket like this one or this one.  For now, I will just start with a very simple expanding granny afghan in fun taffy-like colors.


In order to learn how to do the granny square stitch, I used this easy illustrated how to tutorial.  I used it as a basis for my afghan and have been expanding upon it to make a continuous granny, rather than squares to be stitched together.


I am still trying to decide whether I will make it into a rectangle and do rows on the ends or to make it a square. The plan is to have this afghan finished by the end of this next week.  So whatever I decide, I will share it next week in my Part 2 post.


I picked 4 bright taffy-like colors of yarn:
Red Heart Super Saver Light Raspberry
Red Heart Super Saver Lemon
I Love This Yarn! Super Soft Turquoise
I Love This Yarn! Super Soft Periwinkle

The I Love This Yarn! skeins are a little bit softer, but the Red Heart Super Saver isn't much different feeling.

For the first time through with each color, I went around 2X.  After that, I am doing 1X around with each color.  I am partially weaving in the ends, but waiting until the afghan is finished to complete that task.

Christmas Cross Stitch Ornaments

I'm behind on my crafting again because I have been super busy at work.  I recently had some court appearances that required additional preparation and I am preparing for another trial.  So, I am writing about a project I completed some time ago.

I found these cross stitch ornaments on Amazon.  They are Dimension's Christmas Pals, and they can be found here.  I thought they were super cute, so I had to make them.

The kits contained the pattern, cross stitch cloth, thread, and needle.  The pattern was easy to follow.  However, each of these ornaments had a lot of detail work, so they took quite some time to complete.

Instead of using the cardboard that came with the kit, I used a thicker adhesive board.  For the hangers, I used some leftover silver cording I had from another project. I glued them to the back of the adhesive board using my glue gun.

Christmas may still be a few months away, but Christmas crafts are fun any time of the year and some crafts need to be started early to be finished in time for Christmas.  Have fun crafting.  :) 

On a side note, our family recently grew by 2 guinea pigs.

Fall Great Pumpkin Amigurumi Roundup

It's fall now, and pumpkins can be out on display pretty much all season, so I decided to try my hand at some of the free crochet amigurumi pumpkin patterns.  I'm showing off my pumpkins this week and providing links to these patterns as well as many other free pumpkin patterns.

I tried out 3 free crochet pumpkin patterns:

1. Amy Lehman's Crochet Pumpkin available at her blog Crochet Jewel

This pattern was fairly easy to make, but it is more complicated than it appears.  It looks like 2 pieces, but it is actually 4 pieces--stem, top, bottom, and main body.  The main body is done in rows rather than rounds, and it is a mix of SC and  HDC.

It is a more lifelike pumpkin, rather than a being a cutesy pumpkin like the other 2 patterns that I tried out.  I like the ridges in this pumpkin, which are created using the mix of stitches and gathering.


2. Stacey Trock's Amigurumi Jack the Tiny Pumpkin available for download at Ravelry

This pattern was by far the easiest of the 3 patterns I tried out.  The pumpkin was composed of 3 total crochet pieces--2 eyes and a body.  The body and stem were continuous rounds. I think it turned out very cute.  It would also look good in a bigger size by doubling the yarn or doing more increase/decrease rounds.

3. Allison Hoffman's Squeeze N' Sniff Pumpkin Pie available at her blog Crafty Is Cool

This pumpkin pie pattern was just ridiculously cute, so I had to make it when I saw it.  I really like how my version turned out. The project was not the most difficult amigurumi piece, but it included more detail work and more complicated stitches than the other 2 patterns.

I decided not to do the sachet, but I did put the cardboard on the bottom of the pan to help it keep its shape. 



I found quite a few other cute and free pumpkin patterns, but I only have so much time and space to devote to amigurumi pumpkins.


The following is a list of some other free amigurumi crochet pumpkin patterns:

• Jennifer Clark's Little Fall Pumpkin available at her blog Crafty Jenn
• June Gillbank's Pumpkin available at her blog Planet June
• Eden Dintsikos Amigurumi Pumpkin available for free download at Ravelry
• Lion Brand's pumpkin pattern #80840AD available at Lion Brand's website
• Monica Cifuentes' Evil Pumpkin available at her blog Witchnofret Handcraft
• Halloween Pumpkin available at Little Things Blogged
• Sara McFall's Easy Crochet Pumkin available at her blog My Merry Messy Life
• Lion Brand's Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Ornament available at Lionbrand's website 

Update:

Raccoon Amigurumi Plush

 

If you have read my previous posts, then you will have seen that I enjoy making crafts for my nieces and nephews.  Some time ago I was told that my oldest nephew would like a raccoon plush, so I started making it.  This project took significantly longer to finish than originally intended.  It was not a difficult project, but it was not as colorful and fun to make as some other projects that I have been working on recently. It was a struggle to make, but I like how it turned out, and I hope my nephew enjoys it.

I already had a good raccoon pattern from Stacey Trock included with a Craftsy class that I had purchased.  (I think it was like $10 to $15 on sale.) You can find the class and pattern here.  In fact, this class is the one that got me started crocheting again and was my introduction to amigurumi.

This pattern is fairly simple. It requires knowledge of SC, DC, color changes, and joining stuffed animal body parts. 

I made one change to the pattern.  The original pattern expects the maker to use felt on the eyes--large crocheted black oblong eye patch, small white felt circle, and then plastic safety eye.  However, I didn't think I would be able to cut out perfect circles, so I crocheted circles for myself.  

My pattern for the white circle for the eye is as follows (back loops only):

Rd 1: MC=ch 2, SC 6 in second ch from hook (6 SC total)

Rd 2: 2SC in first SC, SC in next 2 SC, 2 SC in next SC, SC in next 2 SC (8 SC total)

If you like this amigurumi raccoon, you should check out my other amigurumi projects.  You can find them under the labels of amigurumi and stuffed animal.

Joy Sheet Music Christmas Tree Ornament

Some people do Christmas in July projects.  Well, here's my Christmas in August ornament.  Really I have just been busy and am behind on finishing some projects, so I am blogging about an ornament I made for my tree last Christmas.

This ornament was super easy to make, and it looked really cute on my tree.

Supplies:
--sheet music (I found Ode to Joy online for free)
--clear glass ornament ball (I got mine on sale at Hobby Lobby)
--acrylic paint and brush
--string/twine/ribbon
--scissors

Directions:
Step 1: Cut sheet music into long sheets that are narrow enough to fit into the ball.

Step 2: Curl the sheets some and then put them into the ball slowly so that they curve around.

Step 3: Paint "Joy" (or whatever you want it to say) on the ball.  Let the paint dry.

Step 4: Cut ribbon/twine/string in the size size you want for hanging the ornament on the tree.  Attach it to the ornament.

Monster Crochet Hook Case

Last week, I showed off my new crochet hooks with polymer clay hook grips.   Well, now that I had the new hooks, I needed a new crochet hook case.  (I had been toting around my hooks in a plastic Ziploc baggy, so it was time for something a little nicer.)

 Supplies:
--yarn for monster body
--yarn for eyes
--2 plastic safety eyes (optional)
--crochet hooks of a couple different sizes (I used F for the body and D for the horns and eyes)
--button

Directions:
Step 1:  I started out by using this monster pattern as the template.  The only parts I followed were the beginning telling the number to chain and how to know where to put the mouth.  (I think her hook case is really cute with the stripe running down it.)

Step 2: Crochet your foundation chain (about 22 SC), and go all the way around it.  Then, I went around it with a DC.  Increase base to make it as big as you want/need.

Step 3: SC rounds until crochet hooks fit inside and only the tips stick past.

Step 4: Create your mouth.  Figure out how big you want your mouth to be, and crochet that amount of SC.  (Ex:  If you want it 14 SC long, then make a 14 SC chain, then count 14 SC and attach at the new spot)  Continue SC rows until you have desired height (minus closing).

Step 5: Closing your monster head.  There are different ways to do it.
--The way I chose was to do decrease rounds until I reached 6SC total, and then close using a decrease stitch using first and fourth SC.
--Another way to close would be to just sew across the top or to reduce some and sew across the top.  The across the top sewing would be for a more boxy shaped head.

Step 6: Decorate your monster.  I added horns, arms, and eyes.
--To make eyes: Ch2; Rd 1= 4 SC in ch that is second from hook.  Increase until you have the width you want.  (I did 4, 8, 12) Then, 1 plain SC round to make eyes pop out.  For the eyes, I'm pretty sure I used the smaller D hook.  I added plastic safety eyes, but you could also do yarn, felt, etc.
--To make the horns, I used a smaller D hook.  I think I started with 4 SC, but I cannot remember.
--To make arms, I used the same size hook as the body (F), and did the following: Ch 2; Rd 1= 6 in ch that is second from hook; Rd 2= 2 SC, Sc (9); Rds 3-9= SC (9)

Step 7:  I added a button and yarn to close off my monster's mouth, so that my hooks wouldn't fall out easily.

Update: This post was featured on We Made That Linky #53.

Colorful Polymer Clay Crochet Hook Grips

A little over a week ago, I saw this blog post from Petals to Pecots about polymer clay hooks, and I had to make my own.  I had one crochet hook that had a grip at that time, and it was my favorite hook.  The grip made it more comfortable to hold, so I wanted more hooks with grips.   

So, I went to Wal-Mart and got a variety pack of Sculpey for about $9 and some cheap and colorful metal crochet hoops.  I already had some metal hooks, but I was afraid that I might melt them or have some other accident that would ruin them, so I bought more.  (Note: None of the hooks melted or even came close to it.)

The polymer clay was pretty easy to use, and I love the way these hook grips turned out.  :)

(See below for directions)

Supplies:
--polymer clay in a variety of colors
--metal crochet hooks
--rolling pin or other rolling tool
--razor blade or very sharp knife
--baking pan
--aluminum foil

Directions:
Step 1: Pick your clay colors and roll design.  I tried to match colors with the hooks as best as I could.

Step 2: Knead your clay to make it pliable.

Step 3: Make rolls.  I found some easy roll ideas and tips online, such as at the Sculpey website.  I made very simple rolls for this project, but more complicated rolls would look great too.

Step 4: Cut the roll into slices and place the slices around the hook.  Keep putting slices around the hook until you have the size and shape of your grip that you want.  For the really skinny hook, I actually put a thin base layer around the hook, and then placed the roll slices on top of it.

Step 5: Bake your crochet hook. Follow the baking directions that came with your clay.

Tips & Resources:
--It's best to finish with one color and clean your hands before touching the next color.  I found that the clay would stick to my hands and change the color of the next piece of clay if I didn't first wash my hands and use a paper towel.


--I found that I needed a really sharp cutting instrument like a razor blade to cut the rolls slices.  Otherwise, they kept mushing together and blurring the pattern

--For my work surface, I used a baking sheet and covered it in aluminum foil, so it doubled as a work space and my baking tray.

--Google images of polymer clay rolls, so that you can get ideas for rolls

--Sculpey's How To on Simple Canes

--There are also lots of videos on YouTube and examples on Pinterest



Update:  This post was featured at Sugar Bee Crafts.