Marie Claire Idees spring 2009

The spring issue is in my hot little hands and, as always, gives me a chance to practice my French.
I particularly love their take on owls.
This lovely was created using a paper mache technique, so simple yet so sweet.


Look at these...a small owl made of felt hitches a ride on the back of a scarf;
smooth pebbles get a lick of paint to form a parliament of owls and
a small loaf of owl bread is cooling off on a kitchen table waiting for the kids to wake up.

A free crochet owl pattern

First Marcie Nishioka posted a pattern on how to knit a ball on Ravelry.
Then some knitters turned those balls into a parliament of owls in sweaters... first by doctorhectic and then by others such as dubb, KimberlyPye, Anniepurls and arc.
All of them are adorable!

So I decided to make one in crochet and share the pattern with you.
My pattern is untested so please let me know if you find mistakes.
Mine is 2 1/2 inches in diameter; I used a 5 mm hook and worsted weight yarn.
I worked mine in a spiral and used a marker to mark the beginning of each round, moving it up with each round.
(In Row 2 you will start in the first stitch of Row 1 which joins the ring).

Body
Row 1: In magic ring crochet sc 6. (6st)
Row 2: *2sc in each st* repeat until end. (12 st)
Row 3: *2sc in first st, sc in next st* repeat until end (18 st)
Row 4: *2sc in first st, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end (24 st)
Row 5: *2sc in first st, sc in next 3 st* repeat until end (30 st)
Rows 6-7: sc in each stitch (30 st)
Row 8: *sc decrease, sc in next 3 st*repeat until end (24 st)
Row 9: *sc decrease, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end(18 st)
Row 10: *sc decrease, sc in next st* repeat until end(12 st)
Stuff firmly
Row 11: *sc decrease* repeat until end (6 st)
Finish off and sew seam closed with tail yarn.
Add buttons for eyes and embroidery or sew on felt for nose.

Sweater pattern
Repeat body rows 1-4 (after row 4 you will have 24 st)
Rows 5-11: sc even (24 st)
Row 12: *sc decrease, sc in next 2 st* repeat until end (18 st)
Finish off and weave in thread.

Please note that all content and images are mine and are protected by
copyright.

One Year Anniversary

To celebrate my first year of blogging I made cakes.

No, not the sweet sticky kind...... I made yarn cakes.
I bought myself a wool winder and have been winding all my bits and bobs of yarn.

I first saw cakes of yarn at my knitting class and loved how they looked. But they are also practical.
They are stackable (how cool is that!) and because of the centre pull there is no fighting with tangles.

Plus I no longer have to chase my yarn around while I crochet or knit.
Unlike my dog, they sit obediently in one spot.

From Garter stitch to lace

I'm very happy to see how far I have come in my knitting class in 7 classes.
On the right is my homework for my first class...a strip of garter stitch (straight knitting).
On the left is actually 2 classes...the lower part is a snowflake that I made from a chart, and the upper part is 2 pattern repeats of a lace pattern.

Two packages in the mail

It's been almost like Christmas this past week...post lady Pat popped 2 packages in my mailbox.

The first one was from a sweet girl named Arina who lives in The Netherlands.
She sent me a wonderful package of knitting patterns by Alan Dart....joy!
It's very difficult to find them here so I was really excited and grateful to receive them.
I first saw her knitted and crocheted items on her flikr page.
She and her sister, Baujke, also sell knitted, crocheted, and sewn items at Baukje en Dirkje Creaties
Thank you so much Arina!

The second package was from another sweet girl, Salihan, who lives in Australia.
Her package contained a beautifully soft Malabrigo merino scarf that she had hand knitted.
Salihan recently celebrated the relaunching of her wonderful blog
(now called Salihan crafts)
by having a draw and, as luck would have it, I won the scarf :0)
I have admired her knitted work for some time so it's wonderful to actually wear something that she has made.
Thank you so much Salihan, it will be so wonderful to wear such a warm and pretty scarf!
And don't forget to check out her blog and she is also on Ravelry.

Amigurumi Butters (crochet)

I adapted a Stan pattern by lafeecrochette on etsy into Butters by changing the hair, eyes and colour of his clothes.
This is for my 20 year old and is about 3 inches tall.

Link to amigurumi CartmanLink to amigurumi KennyLink to South Park afghan

Yarn Graffiti, Crochet Style

I've seen so many pictures of yarn covered poles and statues, stop signs, and car antennas but I have never seen one in person.
So today I decided to crochet a little graffiti starting with this ugly chain link fence that surrounds a nearby school.


It adds a little colour to an unexpected place on a dreary winter's day. But it is also not so elaborate that it will break my heart if it is taken down.
I hope it lasts for a while.

I had to be a bit sneaky to put it up without anyone seeing me, but since it was cold and windy it went quite smoothly.

I'm thinking of covering a pole next.
Edit: Well it lasted until today, May 27th, that's over 3 months...not bad!

My heart is yours!!!

My heart is yours!!!
Originally uploaded by hine

This totally cracks me up (this won the Valentine's Day contest over at Craft Magazine.)
I think the icing on the cake is the guard around it's neck, you don't want any stitches being ripped out!
Congratulations hine!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

Fingerless gloves in crochet jacquard and a little basketweave

I'm working on 2 things.
On the left is my my knitting homework from last week,
which is the basketweave stitch. It's cute isn't it and quite easy.
On the right is the beginning of the most beautiful fingerless gloves that I've ever seen.

I fell in love with these gloves by Danielle Kassner
the minute I laid eyes on them
I had never seen crochet done like this before.
So I bought the pattern and some wool
(unfortunately I had no 'scraps of sock or fingering weight yarn').
It took me a few tries but I finally found a hook that would give me gauge (I crochet loosely so I had to find a 2 mm hook).

These are done in crochet jacquard and backwards crochet, both totally new techniques for me.
(great free tutorials here).
I decided to use greens and blues as the main colours with bits of grey, white and red.

I'm only 8 rows in, but I hope to gather speed as I get better at the technique.
I'm ridiculously excited about them.
I just hope that I finish them before spring.

Art on a Paris sidewalk

By C215
Originally uploaded by vitostreet

This beautiful drawing was made on a pavement of a street in Paris.
I love how the chipped pavement looks like swirling autumn leaves and
the detail, colour, and expression of the cat is just wonderful!

A little mushroom house

I used this great free pattern from Crochet Me and made it into a little house.
It's 5 inches high and made with scrap worsted weight yarn and a size 5 mm hook.
The top part has a lid and is hollow so I can store buttons, or paperclips.

I didn't want it to tip over when filled so I put a magnet inside the trunk and I'll probably place it onto a metal base. I'm thinking of making a few of them, all lined up on a shelf or window sill to help keep my work space tidy.
The cute owl that is beside it is needle felted and was made by coltpixy

Free crochet leaf pattern with pics

I'm not sure if this will be of interest to anyone but I needed some leaves for a project and this is what I came up with.

I used a small amount of worsted weight and a 3.75 hook
It measures 3 inches long.
You can make your leaves larger or smaller
by changing the yarn weight and the hook size.
I also left a long tail when I began my chains
so that I could connect other leaves.

Directions:
Ch 14
Row1: Work one sc in second chain from hook, sc in next 3 chs, dc in next 5 chs, hdc in next 2 chs, sc in next chain, 2 sc in last ch.

Row2: You will now need work on the bottom loops(see picture below)
Work sc in next 2 loops, hdc in next 2 lps, dc in next 5 lps, sc in next 4 lps, sl st to join in 1st sc (from Row 1)
Fasten off and weave in end.

I also drew a symbol chart and included an explanation of the symbols.

Symbol Explanation

Please note that as usual all content and images are mine 
and are protected by copyright.

Beyond scarfs--beginner knitting

There are only so many scarves you can make.
Okay, maybe that is not totally true, I guess it would be more accurate to say there is only so many necks that you can make scarves for.

So this crocheter has decided to take a beginner's knitting class.
Yes. I know, hooks and pointy needles don't always get along but they are really just sisters with different clothes.
 
So on the right is  a simple garter stitch
(knit, knit, damn you knit!) but eventually we got to knitting fancy lace stitches and cables.

 

I think my biggest beef about knitting is that if you mess up, you can't just easily rip back your mistakes like you can with crochet. Or at least I can't but, I somehow think I will get a lot of practice at it.

A book list and another crochet scarf

This year I want to keep track of the books I read.
I've included a link to Amazon for each book in case you want an overview of any of them.

#1. The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
I thoroughly enjoyed the character of the 11 year old young girl Thebes.
Creative, a little crazy and extremely loyal to her family I wish I could have spent more time with her.
#2. The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
This is not a book to be 'read' so much as viewed as it is made up of paintings and comments covering a year in the life of the author.
The paintings were often drawn from photographs that she took around New York City and I found it really interesting to get a glimpse of her life.


#3. When you are Engulfed in Flames by David Sekaris
Incredibly funny and bizarre.
I've never met anyone like him and would love to hear him read out loud on his book tours. Loved it.
-----------



I loved the scarf that I made my mum for Christmas so I decided to make one for myself.
This yarn (Vanna's Choice-rust) is leftover acrylic from the South Park blankets I made for my sons and is actually softer than the wool I used in her's.
The free pattern from Joann's is here.

Elisabeth D's gwen2 doll

Gwen2
uploaded by Elisabeth D

Amazing eh!
I'm a big fan of Elisabeth Doherty's work and I've decided to make one of her wonderful doll's for my niece's baby due in a couple of months.
I have her wonderful book
Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute
so now it is just a matter of choosing which pattern to make and then buying the yarn for it. I want to add my own spin on it and also want to make the clothes so that they can be removed. Half the fun of having a doll is being able to change her clothes.

It will be a challenging fun project indeed!

Looking back before looking forward

For a few years I was totally
obsessed with making mosaics and
then one day I just stopped.
I look back now at some of my
projects and all I can see
is my sloppy technique and
my lack of design.
But there are a couple that,
even though they are flawed,
I still really like.

I still love my birdbath that
I made out of a sink.



And I like my garden flowers that
I made from tin cans and bowls.



My stash of tiles and glass
have sat too long
in my garage.
I think, come spring, I may
dig into those bins and play.

A new year and new things to try

Every year I make the same resolution.
And every year I keep it.
It's simply to try new things.
Yes I know this doesn't sound
particularly earth shattering.
But I say or type this statement
every year as a type of mantra.
It focuses me, it challenges me.
It forces me to seek,
each and every day,
ways that I can fulfill this
promise to myself.

You'd be surprised how many
little opportunities are out there.
When you are driving home, take
a different route,
talk to the person next to you
when you're in a line-up.
(I found a great new yarn shop
who taught advanced crochet classes).
Read something you normally
wouldn't read, eat something
you have never tried.
The possibilities are endless.

Year-end balancing the books -craft wips

***2008***

was a good crochet year for
me so I thought I'd finish it
off by posting all my wips
as a statement that they would
indeed get done...eventually.

I only have 4... which I think is
a respectable number.

#1: Sew together the knitted horse
mum made me and also crochet
it's blanket of flowers.

#2: Finish the second %$#^&
knitted sock using dpn.

#3: Finish my applique

#4: Finish designing my crocheted
sheep teacosy

Happy New Year Everyone
I wish you health and happiness!!!

geekcrafts

I've been lucky to have had my works
show up on other craft sites and
just got the nod from geek crafts
for my south park amigurumi.
It's got everything from
Dr. Who to Mario to Star Wars
so check out this great site.

I'm still not happy with their eyes

I got tired of making Cartmans
so I switched to Kenny
(Xmas present for my youngest)
Working the head.



The two trouble makers.





Kenny is a bit unstable and
falls over easily.
Cartman needs his right
eye slid back up.
It must have been a rough
night for them both.

Link to South Park Afghan
Link to amigurumi Butters

A trio of French bears

Aren't these cute?



At first I thought that these were
needle felted.
They are actually made from
recycled wool sweaters.
The patterns are in the
December 08 Marie Claire Idees.
I really want to make these!

Barack Obama lives at my house

My oldest son asked for 2 books
written by Barack Obama
for Christmas so when I saw
this pattern I thought I'd
make it for him.



He's 2 1/2 inches tall which
is smaller than if you
followed the yarn and hook in
the pattern.
I decided to make him using
a dk weight yarn and 2.5 mm hook.
I also made him into a stuffed toy
instead of a puppet.
I think he would also look
cute as an ornament to mark
this historic event.
Here is the free pattern.
You just need to sign in to Lion Brand

Another knitted scarf

One of the wonderful things about the gorgeous
yarns that are available now is that even
a beginner knitter (that's definitely me)
can make a pretty scarf using
the simplist pattern.






 
This scarf is for my son's girlfriend and
as this is my first gift to her
I wanted it to be special.
It's a simple garter stitch
using 20 stitches on 15 inch needles.

The yarn is lovely,it is Lang's Mille Colori
and are stripes of deep chocolate browns with
amazing jewel purples and reds.

But what made this scarf come out so lovely
was the addition of a second thinner yarn
called Rowan kidsilk haze made from kid
mohair and silk. Not only does it add an
incredible softness to the scarf but
it also adds a slight shadowing affect
which unfortunately doesn't show
up in pictures.

One-Skein crochet scarf

I wanted to make a quick but nice present
for mum and I knew that
this scarf would fit the bill.
When rolled up it looks
like a perfect rose.



When worn it can be wrapped once
or several times around the neck.



1032 people (counting me)
have made it Ravelry's
most popular crochet project.
I used Paton's Classic Merino
and I would guess that
I used only 3/4 of a skein.
I've seen it made with acrylics
and expensive yarns and all
of them resulted in a very pretty scarf.

You can find the free pattern here
or in the Happy Hooker book.

Crocheted Ornaments-sweaters and skates

What fun it was to make these
mini sweaters!
They along with the little skates
were sent to Coltpixy
for a swap over at
Creative Living.


I love the sweater pattern
by Marci Senders.
She has done a great job not
only with the pattern but
also with a great tutorial
complete with step-by-step
pictures.
Thanks Marci!

I was also very happy with how
the little ice skates came out.
Thanks to Myra Ann Shaw
for a really cute pattern!
I'm planning on making
another pair but this time I will
make them into hockey skates
for my referee son.

Russian join- a technique for joining a new ball

I learned a wicked new way to join a new
ball of yarn without any tails to weave in;
it's called the Russion join.
I learned this technique from
a helpful clerk at Romni Wool
in Toronto.

Instead of posting a long winded how-to,
here is a great link with pictures.

When I used it on my scarf
it resulted in a strong invisible join
so I was very happy with the result.
To me it seemed to take less time
than weaving in ends and
the result is much cleaner.

Since I'm such a novice knitter
I'm not surprised that I haven't
come across this before
but......

My question is,
Why is it that I'm not seeing
crocheters using this technique?

Tagged

I've been tagged by amber
at Crafty all over the place
so here goes...

7 Random Things about sukigirl
---------------------

1. When I was around 5, I almost drowned in a pool,
but being the clever red headed girl that I was,
I wore my hair in a lovely ponytail...perfect for my mum to pull me out of the water.

2. I have painted my work space the brightest pink
so that my male family won't venture inside my space.
Sometimes it gets a bit much for me, but we all know
that we have to suffer for our art.

3. I still regret having to tell my son that there was no Santa Claus. He told me that all his friends didn't believe in him and asked me to be honest.
I was ..and he cried ....and it broke my heart.
4. My hubby and 2 sons have no idea that I have manipulated them into choosing female pets only. I do this in an attempt to preserve the estrogen balance in the house.

5. When I was 7 years old my brother and I were picked to be the King and Queen of the London Fair. We got our picture in the paper, a free teddy bear (which I still have after many, many years), lunch with the fair president and a bucket load of tickets for rides.
I think of it as my greatest achievement.

6. When I was 7, I also slipped on our back step and the back of my dress got caught on the clothesline hook and I hung there for about an hour before my mum
came to rescue me.
It was, of course, one of my lesser achievements.

7. That despite how #2 and #4 sounds, my family is my greatest joy!

As far as tagging, .....most of the blogs I visit have done the tag thing so I'll bend the rules and just list 7 sites.

1.LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this site attic24

2. If I could only visit one it would be Craftzine

3. She is so talented, I wish she would post more
coltpixy
4.Crochet Liberation Front
I belong to this subversive group on Ravelry.
Yes, the words crochet and subversive can be used together.

5. I just discovered this one and I'm really enjoying
the mix of crochet and sewing projects.
My cuppa'charms

6. I've picked up some great recipes from here.. smitten kitchen

7. future girl
Great designs, tutorials and craft book reviews

A crochet rat for Rosie

My niece Rosie lost both her rats
this past year.
I decided to make her one for Christmas
using a great pattern
by planetjune at etsy.



He is about the size of her own rats.
Let me just say that it is very difficult
to photograph a black rat.

And you know the expression that
the camera adds 10 pounds.
It happens to rats too.





I never thought that I'd be crocheting a rat.

Amigurumi Cartman in Crochet

He's 3 1/2 inches tall and is a
Christmas present for my son.
I bought the pattern from
La Fe Crochette at etsy.

Link to South Park afghan
Link to amigurumi Butters
Link to amigurumi Kenny

Standoff

The squirrel wants to get to my
bird feeder which is on the
other side of this kestrel.
Pretty fearless I would say
considering that the hawk is
feeding on a bird that was
at that same feeder.

A fast knit

I wanted to make friends with
knitting again so I knit
up a quick scarf for hubby.
The yarn is beautiful and soft.
Jaspe Wool from Romania
The Romanian part sounded right as
hubby has a Romanian grandmother.
Size 15 needles, 15 stitches
in garter stitch.
I started and finished in one evening.

The pain of double pointed needles

I know when to quit and
count my losses.
It's not like I didn't give
dpns a fair shot.
My first sock went relatively
well and it was great
having my mum here helping me.

Today I sat myself down to
what I thought would be a nice
quiet morning working
on the second sock.
But I soon came to the realization
that working with those needles
was making me hate knitting.

So I am formally banishing them.

Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas crochet pattern

This is a pattern for Jack's head only.

It is basically just a sphere.

I ended up using felt for the eyes and the
mouth stitching, although I do give you
a pattern for crochet eyes.

This pattern is untested so
let me know if you
have any problems.
(Also see link to
Zero's pattern by Mishymishy)

I used a size 5 mm hook and worsted weight acrylic.
Gauge: 5 sc = 1 inch
4 rows = 1 inch
the circumference for mine was 27 in.
This head is worked in spirals.

Place a marker at the end of each round
moving it as you work.

Ch 2
Rnd 1: Work 6 sc into second chain from hook,
join with sl st to form a circle. (6 sc)

-->Rnd 2: Work 2 sc in each sc around. (12 sc)
Rnd 3: Work [sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc]
repeat around. (18 sc)
Rnd 4: Work [sc in each of next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (24 sc)
Rnd 5: Work [sc in each of next 3 sc, 2sc in next sc]
rep around. (30 sc)
Rnd 6: Work [sc in each of next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (36 sc)
Rnd 7: Work [sc in each of next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (42 sc)
Rnd 8: Work [sc in each of next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (48 sc)
Rnd 9: Work [sc in each of next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (54 sc)
Rnd 10: Work [sc in each of next 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (60 sc)
Rnd 11: Work [sc in each of next 9 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (66 sc)
Rnd 12: Work [sc in each of next 10 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (72 sc)Rnd 13: Work [sc in each of next 11 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (78 sc)
Rnd 14: Work [sc in each of next 12 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (84 sc)
Rnd 15: Work [sc in each of next 13 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (90 sc)Rnd 16: Work [sc in each of next 14 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (96 sc)
Rnd 17: Work [sc in each of next 15 sc, 2 sc in next sc]
rep around. (102 sc)
Rnd 18--39: Work even. ((102 sc)Rnd 40: Work [sc in each of next 15 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc] rep around. (96 sc)
Rnd 41: Work [sc in each of next 14 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc] rep around. (90 sc)
Rnd 42: Work [sc in each of next 13 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc] rep around. (84 sc)
Rnd 43: Work [sc in each of next 12 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc] rep around. (78 sc)
Rnd 44: Work [sc in each of next 11 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc] rep around. (72 sc)Rnd 45: Work [sc in each of next 10 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc] rep around. (66 sc)
Rnd 46: Work [sc in each of next 9 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (60 sc)
Rnd 47: Work [sc in each of next 8 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (54 sc)Rnd 48: Work [sc in each of next 7 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (48 sc)Rnd 49: Work [sc in each of next 6 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (42 sc)Rnd 50: Work [sc in each of next 5 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (36 sc)
Rnd 51: Work [sc in each of next 4 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (30 sc)Rnd 52: Work [sc in each of next 3 sc, dec 1 sc over next 2 sc]
rep around. (24 sc)
Bind off.This still should leave a large enough opening to stuff the head.
Eyes: (Make 2).
Row 1: Work 6sc into a magic circle, join, tighten and ch 1 (6 st)
Rw 2: Work 2sc in each sc, join, ch 1 (12 st)
Rw 3: [Work 2sc in each of next 3 sc, 2 dc in each of next 3 sc ]
twice, join (24 st)
If you feel you want a larger eye add a round of sc.
Using photo complete face using your choice of felt
or embroidery.

Babette crochet afghan

I've always wanted to make a babette
afghan and decided this would be the
winter to start on it.
But first I looked
through my old craft books
to see some of the 70's versions
of the granny afghan.
This lovely example is from BHG
Crocheting and Knitting 1978



Not quite an afghan but still a
wonderful example of grannys
in this pillow from
McCall's Crochet Treasury 1977


Here is a link to some modern afghans
known as babettes.

It may take me a while to pick
out my colours and also decide
if I will follow the babette pattern or
just do my own thing.
But it is a project which I'm
really looking forward
to starting.

Crochet sheep cozy

Not much to look at now but this is
my attempt at designing a sheep's
head for a tea cozy.

It is a little wider than my sketch
because it is amigurumi style
so when I add a bit of stuffing
it should be the right width.
Patons SWS charcoal colour
using a 4.5mm hook.

Granny Square jacket

Here's today's vintage image:

It is from a 1980 magazine called
Christmas Ideas
put out by
Better Homes and Gardens Creative Ideas
It is made with 42 granny squares (2 1/2 in)
for the back, 20 for each front,
and 30 for each sleeve,with simple edgings added for
the colour, cuffs and bottom.

Nightmare before Christmas (crochet)

Since my family all love the movie
we thought it would be great for this
year's Halloween theme.



I think he'll look great hanging in
the dark with a spotlight hitting him.
I made Zero from this great pattern.

Jack is next and should be
quite easy to make.
I'll crochet his head and pop it over my skeleton
and then make his clothes.

Crocheted Christmas Garland

I've made two of these garlands and I am
starting one for myself.

Poor little gingerbread boy!
He needs a candy cane crutch.

How to make Coffee Cozies

Beginner Cup Cozies
by sukigirl74

I made up the pattern for these cozies for a swap
and I wanted to share it.

Please note that all content and images are mine and are protected by
copyright.I love to share my patterns but, as usual, please do not claim them as your own or publish my patterns on your site without my permission ....you are more than welcome to link to it. Do not sell any items made from this pattern. Also I ask that you credit me as the designer when posting your pics of any items you make. 


Please read all notes before starting because
all mugs are not created equal.
I give row counts for my particular mug
but I do tell you in my instructions
how to adjust to fit your own mug(in red).
I've given you the basics but this
is an easy pattern so have fun with it.
This pattern has now been tested but please let
me know if you find any errors.

Note:
Chain 2's at the beginning of each row count as a stitch.
When making rounds, place a marker in the second chain
so that it will be easy to know where to join with a slip stitch.

Pattern: starting from bottom
Row 1: Crochet enough chains to fit snuggly around.
the base of the cup, then join with a sl stitch (27 st)
(being careful not to twist chain).
Row 2-3: Ch2, hdc into each st around.
Join with a slip st.(27 st)
(Make as many rows that will take you to just below your handle).

Handle Rows:
(For these rows you will be working back and forth so you will not join.)
Row 4-7: Ch 2, turn work, hdc into each stitch but leave some stitches at the
end unworked (for handle)
(For your mug make enough rows to reach the handle hole.)
Row 8: Ch2, turn, work, hdc into each stitch of previous row, ch 8.
Row 9: Ch2, turn work. Starting in 3rd ch, hdc into each chain and
into each hdc of the previous row.
Row 10-: Ch2, turn. Work hdc into each stitch of previous row.
(For your mug, make as many rows to take you about halfway up the
hole of the handle and end with your last row as a wrong side row. A wrong
side row will mean that you will end NOT at the tab end.)

Buttonhole row:Row 11: Ch 2, turn.
Hdc into all but last 4 stitches, then ch2 (forms button hole), skip 2, hdc into
last 2 stitches.
Row 12: Ch 2, turn. Work hdc into each stitch
[including the 2 buttonhole chains (from row 11)].
Row 13-: Ch 2, turn. Work hdc into each stitch.
(For your mug, repeat Row 13 until it reaches bottom of your handle top).
Decorative edgingRow 14: Turn, skip first stitch *3 hdc into next stitch, slip stitch in next*
Repeat from * to * until end of row.
(Optional: when you get to the part that lies under the cup handle you can
slip stitch over these stitches. See blue arrow below).

Sew on button using the same yarn and you are done.
Please note that all content and images are mine and are protected by
copyright.
I love to share my patterns but, as usual, please do not claim them as your own or publish my patterns on your site without my permission ....you are more than welcome to link to it. Do not sell any items made from this pattern. Also I ask that you credit me as the designer when posting your pics of any items you make.

Lovely embroidered owls from vintage book

I'm lucky to be able to find a lot
of vintage craft books from our 
library and from second hand stores,
mostly from the 70's and 80's.

This book I own, 
it's called Needleplay by Erica Wilson
printed in 1975.
Most are made using rug yarn.
I'm in love with the owl
at the bottom left!
But also look at those flowers!

Fabric crochet hook case

I sewed this as part of a swap over at
Creative living
Rach, who I made this for,
makes lovely, lacy things with teeny,
tiny hooks and thread.

The fabric looks very similar to one she
picked as a favourite over at Flickr.
I would love to have included wool felt
in her case but it is impossible to get here.
I really have to order it online someday.

I don't know if you can see it but
there are little squirrels and mushrooms
in the fabric.
So I was thrilled when I found the acorn buttons.
I made the flower out of the same fabric
and added a vintage button to its centre.

Owls and colts and tea... Oh my!

I was involved in a swap over 
and received a wonderful package
of handmade goodies from Star.


She knows that I love owls,
am learning to knit,
that I love tea and that
I went to Paris this summer.
How spoiled am I!
Everything is gorgeous..
from my very cool owl potholder,
to my stitch markers, to my tin magnets.


This is what I sent to her.
Star is a great believer of making
lists (she's such an organized woman!)
so I made fabric covers
for 2 small notebooks.
One fabric has flowers and the
other has colts which is part
of her username.
The wristwarmers are to keep
her warm on her daily walks with Reba
on cooler days
and the cozy is for her morning
coffee which, lets face it,
we can't function without.


 
Thanks for the wonderful swap Star!

A needlepoint with a few problems

This was supposed to be part of a swap project
for a good friend but I decided not
to finish it. It was to be a pincushion,
with a needlepoint on one side
and fabric for pins on the other side.
It all started really well.....
The design was based on her avatar.

I started stitching the bird and flower first and
I was happy with them. But the background white
caused problems for me,
I used a larger stitch and my tension
turned out to be too tight,
which badly skewed the whole canvas.
When I blocked it, it squared up a bit but
the tension was still too tight.

But I think I learned from my mistakes.
Next time I will use a frame and
keep all of my stitches the same size.
I'll also relax my tension
(maybe with the aid of a glass of wine).
I would really like to have another crack at
this because I do think it could be a
pretty little project if done well.

Crocheted wristwarmers for cooler weather

I love these wristwarmers!
They just tuck under your sleeves for
extra warmth.
They are perfect for fall weather when it isn't
cold enough for gloves but still a bit chilly.
I crocheted them from this wonderful free
pattern by Melissa Mall from Inner Child Crochet.



These are made from a wool soy blend
which is incredibly soft!
I was going to embellish them but
since the recipients don't live nearby,
I wouldn't be able to match any
colours they have in their coat.