Hello Kitty Hat

March 5, 2013 11:54 am \ 3 Comments \ Carol B.

Since Christmastime, my three-year-old has been asking me to make her a Hello Kitty hat. And for whatever reason I’ve put it off. I’m not sure why, because hats are quick and easy to whip up. Last week I finally had the time to hook one up for her, and she could not have been happier!

For the hat itself, I used my favorite hat pattern, which at the moment happens to be the one I used to make Repeat Crafter Me’s owl hat. I find it a little small, and I always need to crochet more rows than the pattern calls for, but it is an excellent base pattern. Laura didn’t want earflaps, and I ended up adding a picot border just to make the hat a little bit longer.

For the nose, I followed the directions on Crochet in Color’s Hello Kitty Hat pattern. I also used her basic ear instructions, but I started with a magic circle, ch2, and then 7 hdc. I didn’t connect the end and beginning, I just made a ch1 and followed the rest of her instructions. When I used her method, I was left with a gap I couldn’t seem to tighten up. Using the magic circle helped with that.

For the eyes, I started with a magic circle (can you tell how much I love that nifty little trick?) and then a ch1, and 10 sc. Then I just sewed it all up.

I think the nose could go a little lower, but she’s so happy with it, I am not about to start taking it apart and redoing work needlessly. Too many other projects in the queue!

What are you working on at the moment?

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Posted in: Crafting, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: crafting, crafts, crochet, easy projects, hats, hello kitty hat

Sleepy Saturday

January 19, 2013 3:49 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

There’s nothing like a solid three hours of sleep to get you refreshed and ready for the day, right? Sigh, of course I’m being sarcastic. Laura had a later bedtime than usual last night, which naturally resulted in a very poor night’s sleep. I’ve always laughed at people who suggest letting kids stay up later in order to get them to sleep in later. Sure, at Jake’s age this works. But not for the wee little ones. At any rate, after two hours of going in an out of her room, consoling, pleading to go back to sleep, I gave in at about 3:45 a.m. and took her downstairs.

I’d hoped that some TV might relax her back to sleep but nope… it wasn’t until I was vacuuming (yay for white noise!) after lunchtime that she started snoozing on the couch. So yes. I’m tired.

I got lots done this week, though, and it flew by. One of the projects on my list was sketching out my stash-buster blanket idea. Quite a while ago, I was inspired by this gorgeous quilt from Pippa Patchwork that I originally saw on Pinterest:

Source: moderndayquilts.tumblr.com via Carol on Pinterest

As I am hardly a quilter, I thought this would be a great solution to my growing stash of odds and ends from various crochet projects. I thought of doing a granny square blanket or a stripey blanket, but this design really “wow’ed” me. Simple enough to work on while watching TV, but I think it has a nice, modern feel.

I whipped out the graph paper to figure out how many squares I’ll need.

And I played around with various colors, picking out 10 that I loved best for the largest squares.

This project is hugely different for me because I don’t think I’ve ever combined so many different colors all at once. I suppose all those years of following Lucy from Attic24 are finally having an effect on me!

So I am slowly (oh, so very slowly) plugging away at my first single-crochet purple square. I need to keep up the momentum

Well, I think it’s time to get up and bake a dish of brownies for dessert tonight and make my house smell even better than it already does. I’ve got two crock pots going: one simmering a pot of chicken stock, and the other cooking up a delicious pot roast for dinner tonight. Drew and Jake have been at the Eskimo Run for Cub Scouts all day and I know when they get home they’ll be cold and hungry.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Posted in: Crafting, Food & Wine, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: chitchat, crochet, stash-buster blanket

{Ta-Da!} An Owl Hat

November 19, 2012 3:31 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

Good afternoon, friends! I hope you’re all getting geared up for Thanksgiving. I know I am! But first I wanted to just share with you a little ta-da! If you like my Facebook page or follow me on Instagram you might have noticed a photo of a last-minute project I’d started. Well, this is it! A cute little owl hat for my niece!

Today is her 3rd birthday and we saw her over the weekend. (She had a John Deere themed party and my sister-in-law did an amazing job — the decorations were so cute and the food was delicious!) I wanted a made-to-match hat for the outfit I picked out for her, and while the colors aren’t exactly spot-on, I think they’re pretty close.

I used a free pattern found on Repeat Crafter Me to make the hat, and the instructions were wonderful. The toddler/pre-schooler pattern is just a teensy bit small, so if you are making one of these, I’d recommend trying the hat on as you go (if possible). But it’s a super quick, super fun project!

Posted in: Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: crochet, free pattern, handmade, hats, owl hat

{Tutorial} Country Christmas Crochet Garland

November 6, 2012 10:36 am \ 9 Comments \ Carol B.

It’s Election Day! I’ll be voting this evening, as my polling location is adjacent to the library and I’m working there for a couple hours tonight. Every year we have an election day raffle to help support our little library, so the hours are extended to correspond with voting hours. This year I decided to whip up this sweet country Christmas garland for the raffle. It’s such a fun project (not to mention instant gratification), that I just had to share it with you!

For the garland, you’ll need:

about 50″ of jute twine
homespun fabric
worsted weight yarn (I used acrylic)
“H” hook
darning needle, scissors

There are a few patterns out there for these granny-style crochet Christmas trees. I modified and merged a few patterns to come up with a shape I liked, but by all means use your favorite!

Crochet Christmas Tree Motif

Abbreviations:

Ch = chain
SC = single crochet
DC = double crochet
Sl St = slip stitch

Start with a magic circle.

Round 1: Ch 3 (the Ch 3 always counts as the first DC stitch), 3 DC, ch 2, 4 DC, ch 2, 4 DC, ch 2. Slip stitch to the top of the beginning ch 3 st. (Three clusters of 4 DC and three ch 2 spaces.)

Round 2: Sl st over to the first ch 2 space of the previous round. Ch 3. 3 DC, ch 2, 4 DC in this space. *Ch 2, 4 DC, ch 2, 4 DC in next ch 2 space. Repeat from * in the last ch 2 space. Ch 2. Sl st to the top of the beginning ch 3 stitch. (Six clusters of 4 DC and six ch 2 spaces.)

Round 3: Sl st over to the first ch 2 space. Ch 3, 3 DC, ch 3, 4 DC in the space. *Skip three DC of the previous row. SC in the next (fourth) DC (this will be the DC immediately before the ch 2 space). 4 DC in the next space. Skip three DC of the previous row. SC in the next DC. 4 DC, ch 3, 4 DC in the next space. Repeat from * along the second side of the tree. Ch 1. 4 DC in the next ch 2 space. Ch 1. Sl st to the top of beginning ch 3.

Tree Trunk: Turn work. Sl st into first DC. Ch 3. DC in the next 3 DC stitches. Turn so that the front of the tree is facing you. Ch 2 (counts as the first SC). SC in the next three DC stitches of the previous row and top loop of starting ch. Finish off and weave the yarn end into the back of the tree.

I hope that was clear. (Yeah, clear as mud, I’m sure!) I’m certainly no expert in writing out patterns. Oh, and if you don’t want to use a magic circle, you can certainly start with a Ch5, and connect the beginning and end with a slip stitch and then work out of the center of that loop you create. I just think the magic circle is neater.

After you accumulate your little stack of trees, it’s time to assemble the garland. You’ll need 9 trees (you could also use 11 if you want them closer — up to you). You’ll need 9 (or 11) 7ish-inches x 1/2 inch pieces of homespun fabric. And you’ll need your jute.

Take a piece of fabric and form a loop. Stick the bottom of the loop through the topmost hole in your tree (1). Lay the jute over the two fabric ends (2). Pull the ends through that loop (3). Then just tighten up the knot until your tree is securely attached to the jute (4).

Repeat this for every tree you’ve crocheted. Then slide the trees around until you have the spacing you want and voila! You have a quick and easy Christmas garland to hang across your mantle, the front of your entertainment center, across a mirror, wherever!

If you make this project, be sure to post a link in the comments. I’d love to see your creations!

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Posted in: Crafting, Free Patterns, Holidays & Entertaining, House & Home, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: christmas, crafts, crochet, free pattern, holidays, tutorial

Flower Pillow “Ta-Da!”

September 18, 2012 12:46 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

Earlier this summer when Lulu made the transition from her crib to a “big girl” bed, I knew I wanted to make something pretty for it. When my mom was visiting back in June, I started on a blooming flower pillow, using the pattern from Attic24. Only instead of using dozens of colors, I decided to make one enormous white flower.

And enormous it is! It took me forever to finish this, not because the pattern was hard, but I guess I got a little bored with all the white. There were quite a few nights where Drew was either playing around with beats on his drum machine or looking for awersome music accessories while I bemoaned the fact that this project was taking forever.

Nevertheless, I’m happy with the way it came out, and my little girl loves it! The backside is a light green and the side is a dark purple, so everything coordinates with her room.

Of course, now the boys want pillows, too (only not flower pillows…) Good thing I have a couple of extra cushions laying around. I guess I’ll be added their requests to my never-ending “to crochet” list, LOL!

Posted in: Crafting, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: blooming flower, crafting, crafts, crochet, decorating

Giraffe Hat and Diaper Cover

April 26, 2012 1:54 pm \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

Ah, it’s been a while! Well, last week the weather was too beautiful. Earlier this week, Laura wanted nothing more than to rock with mama and cuddle (growth spurt perhaps – her conversational skills seem to have exploded overnight).

At least I had my Apple iPod Touch to keep me connected! I also have been working on some crochet projects.

Every year the Rhinebeck Science Foundation hosts a gala fundraiser with a silent auction. As much as I want to attend the gala, it’s just not in the cards this year. But some of my friends from our craft group decided to put together a basket of baby items for the silent auction.

I offered to whip up a baby set. Originally I intended to make a cute bear hat, figuring it was gender-neutral and come on — who doesn’t like teddy bears? But while looking through my stash of yarn I changed my mind. I was inspired by some buttery yellow yarn and a bit of brown. A giraffe set! Here’s how it came out:

I combined elements from three different patterns to complete this project:

Hat body (or use your own favorite pattern): EZ Earflaps Hat
Horns: I used the horns from this pattern as a guide, but didn’t follow the instructions exactly:
Ears: from this Baby Giraffe Hat pattern
The diaper cover is a pattern I came up with on my own when I was making all those bunny sets. For the tail I just made 5 DC into a magic circle and crocheted around until it was the length I wanted. I stuffed the tail into the opening, and then DC2tog until it was closed up. Then I reinforced everything by hand-sewing. For the spots I just crocheted circles (again, the magic circle is your friend!) and sewed them on.

It was a pretty quick and satisfying project! I hope that whoever wins the basket loves it!

Posted in: Crafting, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: crochet

back to it!

January 30, 2012 12:58 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

Huzzah, huzzah! The spring infant sets I’ve been working on are complete and ready to ship out as soon as I get paid! I feel like the last couple weeks I’ve focussed on little more than basic housekeeping/mommy duties and cursing at the Homespun yarn I used. But this morning I was back to my usual routine and it felt great.

I did laundry, changed the sheets on all the beds, tidying up… Boring stuff I guess, but stuff that feels great to get done. I also tried to clean a little in Jake’s room. My word, the lair of a 9 year old boy can be a curious place to visit. His shelves are so cluttered with Lego sculptures, sport trophies, Lowe’s Build & Grow projects, and Lord knows what else. I didn’t get very far — it’s a project I’ll just have to save for another day.

Not too much else is new. My parents came down yesterday and we enjoyed a visit with them. We have a couple more family visits coming up, but overall February looks like a pretty tame month (!). January was jam-packed so I wouldn’t mind a slower pace. And maybe a little snow