Sunday, September 29, 2013

deramores yarn haul

Saving $'s and building up yarn stock.

deramores is a yarn supplier located in the UK and I recently purchased yarn from them.
I live in Australia and our yarn prices are fairly high unless you find a really good sale.

A very big factor me was the postage cost, but if you purchased over $100 of yarn in one order shipping is free!

Knowing this I had fun choosing from their very extensive range of yarn types and labels.

Cant wait and want the link? here it is.

My first package arrived within 2 weeks
This was my selection.
I realized I had ordered barely any primary colors, so I placed another order which came in less than 2 weeks.
The deal with buying 10 of the same color and brand was buy 10 and pay for 9.
I also had a special code to enter for further savings.
The yarn I have purchased through out the year is stored in another room of the house and in plastic bags from sheet and doona cover sets, these zip up and are quite roomy, plus being clear I can see every skein clearly.

  My older stash is kept in my craft room, this stash was built up over time by buying from second hand shops, markets, gifted and special discounts.
But I smoke in this room too so the yarn smells of smoke and I have to wash it carefully when I make something from it, so that was a valuable lesson learned.
 In future any yarn stored here in my craft will be packed in zip lock bags, which I also use when crocheting from the skein.

Another lesson learned was that I could never make larger items as my supply was mixed ply's and texture.
I am able to sell some of my hand crocheted items, so they must look professional and not smell of a tobacco factory.

Cheers all and I hope you enjoyed the reading.
 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

CROCHET A CUTE SMALL OWL

I love these guys!
They measure about 3 inches and are very quick to make using only small amounts of yarn.
Make some for the Christmas tree, I did.

Enjoy my free pattern!

Some different shapes and sizes made until I got the pattern right!

CROCHET SMALL OWL



Difficulty level, easy

Time, 1 hour

Size approx, 3 inches high



Materials:

3.5 to 4 mm hook

8 ply (DK) yarn, small amounts of all 3 colors

2 small buttons

Sewing needle

Small amount of stuffing (good handful)



St’s used:

Sc

Hdc

Dc



Owl consists of body, 2 wings, 2 eyes and a beak.



First make the body:


When changing colors, LEAVE ALL YARN ATTACHED IT’S MUCH EASIER THIS WAY.



All Rounds are joined with a sl st and ch 1, unless otherwise stated



Beginning at the bottom of the owl and main color A make a magic ring

Row 1, work 6 sc into magic ring, join. (6 sc)

Row 2, work 2 sc’s in each sc, join. (12 sc)

Row 3, *work 1 sc in next sc, work 2 sc’s in next sc,* repeat from *to* to end, join with color B (18 sc)

Row 4, work 1 sc in each st to end, join with color C, (18 sc)

Row 5, work 1 sc in next 2 sc, work 2 sc’s into next sc, * repeat from *to* to end, join with color B (24 sc’s)

Stop increases:

Row 6, work 1 sc in each sc to end, join with color A (24 sc’s)

Row 7, work 1 sc in each sc to end, join with color C (24 sc’s)

Row 8, work 1 sc in each sc to end, join with color B (24 sc’s)

Row 9, work 1 sc in each sc to end, join with color B (24 sc’s)

Row 10, work 1 sc in each sc to end, join with color A (24 sc’s)

Use main color A for the rest of the rounds.

Shaping the head and making the ears:

Row 11,* work 1 sc in each of the next 2 sc’s, work the next 2 sc’s together (dec made)* repeat from *to* to end, join (18 sc’s)

Row 12, 13 and 14, work 1 sc in each sc around, join with a sl st only, (18 sc’s)

Ears:

Row 13, ch 3, work 1 dc into same space as ch 3, work 1 dc into next sc, work 1 hdc into next sc, work 1 sl st in each of the next 4 sc’s,  work 1 hdc into the next sc, work 1 dc into the next sc, work 2 dc’s into the next sc, work 1 dc into the next sc, work 1 hdc into the next sc, work 1 sl st in each of the next 4 sc’s, (2 st’s left), work 1 hdc into the next sc, work 1 dc into the last sc, sl st to the top of the ch 3 space, finish off with a tail to sew across head after stuffing, instructions below.



Wings, 3 rounds only, make 2:



Using main color A make a magic ring, joining the same as previously

Row 1, work 6 sc into magic ring, join. (6 sc)

Row 2, work 2 sc’s in each sc, join with color C (12 sc)

Row 3, *work 1 sc in next sc, work 2 sc’s in next sc,* repeat from *to* to end, sl st to join (18 sc), finish off with a long tail for sewing on wing.



Eyes, 1 round only make 2: pick a color of your choice.

Row 1, work 6 sc into magic ring, sl st to join, finish off leaving a tail for sewing (6 sc)



Construction:

Sew or embroider inner eye choice, sew eyes into place on owl, just under the ears and leave a place between the eyes for sewing in the nose which is the very last step.
Wings can be attached prior to or after stuffing, place just under the decrease row and central to the sides of the owl. Sew top half of the circle only, looks like a little wing. Leave 1 long thread in place to sew in the nose.
 

Stuff your owl, placing small amounts in at a time and making the bottom area slightly larger than the upper body. No need to stuff fully nearest to the ear part as the ears will keep their shape.

Now sew the top of the head closed, I found it neater using the inner loops of the st’s only, back loop only.

Beak sewing:

Now take that long thread you left on the wing and sew it into the body and up to the lower central eye position and come out with the needle and thread. Now go into the upper mid eye section and come back out where you started, do this a few times to get your beak shape.
Sew in and bind off all loose ends, sit back and admire your little owl.

Free pattern courtesy of Cats-Rockin-Crochet. 24/09/2013
You can sell your items from this pattern.
Pattern is not for sale!
Please link back to pattern where ever possible.

Click link below for pattern with no pictures.

Printer Friendly Version, No Pictures.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Crochet, Linked Double Crochet

Have you heard of a linked crochet stitch?
Well I had never heard of it or even thought about changing the way to a dc stitch, I like to play around with stitch patterns, but not usually the actual stitch.
So this is what it looks like.
  Now this is me trying to pull apart the dc st, see no gaps?
You can't even poke your fingers through the st's.
I watched a video called linked treble crochet and used it with the dc.
You just have to remember not to yarn over before going into the st space and know what spaces to go into. You do have more than 1 choice of which space to go into, depending on your choice.
I used what I call the bar to go into, if you are familiar with Tunisian crochet, this will be very simple.

You will always be working into the st you just made, that is how it is connected.
Below shows where I will insert my hook to pull up a loop to start the next dc, remember! do not yarn over to begin with.
So I will place my hook into the strand where the pink st holder is.
Below I have pulled up a loop from the strand where the pink st holder is. 2 loops on hook.
 Next I will pull up a loop from the top of the next dc.
3 loops on hook, finish off like a regular dc, yo, pull through 2 and pull through 2 again, 1 loop left on hook.

If you study this picture closely you can see the connection.
What about beginning the next row?
Chain 2 and turn
Pull up a loop through the second ch from the hook, (remember no yarn over).
 Now pull up a loop through the very first dc, 3 loops on hook.
Yo, pull through 2, then pull through 2, just like a regular dc.
So it looks like this and I am loving the nice straight edge.
Now just repeat the first steps of this post to continue the process.

If your project needs 72 dc to begin with, make a chain of 72 plus 2 chain, begin you first connected dc into the 2nd ch from the hook, pull up a loop, then pull up a loop from the next ch, 3 loops on hook and work them off the same as a dc.
Use what I called the bar of the previously made dc to go into and pull up your first loop, then go into the next ch and pull up your next loop, 3 loops on hook, yo, pull through 2, then pull through 2 again.
Continue across the ch to the end, ch 2 and turn.

Why use this method?
Well it has lovely texture and no gaps, here is a head band I made using this method, the connected dc.
Side view.

 Rear view.
No air holes :)
I hope you liked this post and thank you for reading.
Thank you to  Kim Guzman
for her teaching video's too she has some great techniques for lot's of st's. 



Friday, September 13, 2013

Crochet Happy Hippo and The African Flower Square

Very pleased to finish to my latest crochet project!

You too can make this, it's a $ pattern that can be found here at Heidi Bears site.


The pattern is a 35 page pdf file, it's that many pages because she explains in thorough detail how to make happy, beautiful pictured instructions, graphs and written terms, she has not forgotten a thing!
I thoroughly recommend this pattern to any one who wants to give it a go, I personally can't wait to try her horse and bear :)
Happy was made as a companion for the African Flower Square throw I was asked to make for a family member.
The pattern for the  African Flower Square is a free on line pattern found here.

There was lots of ends to sew in, but I cut this down slightly by making some squares with just the out line of the flower, these can be seen in the photo above, from corner to center to corner.
I wonder who wants one for a Christmas present?
The pattern is repetitive so you soon learn it quickly, more crochet and less reading :)
Hope you enjoyed this post fellow crafters.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Crochet Projects

Just a few projects I have been working on recently.

I've been thinking about destashing, especially the small quantities of left over yarn. This is one project I had success with, I gathered lots of scrap blues and called this scrappy blues. It has several different crochet st's in it too.
 
 
Another scrap project was a cot blanket made for a grand son due in November, it is the C2C crochet pattern, found here.
 
 
I got involved in a granny square swap and these are some of the squares I made, I have a board on pinterest which have the patterns for the squares found here.
 


 I have also made some head bands for custom orders.



 

I have another order for a family member which I am currently making, a small throw made with the African flower square which is so pretty. But we could not resist the happy hippo pattern made with the African flower to go with the throw, the hippo is almost finished too.

 

 



I also made a peppa pig for my grand daughter, she loves peppa pig, when the show finishes on TV she hits the TV screen and cries, so she needs a peppa pig of her own, the free pattern can be found here
 
 
Some coffee cozies
 
A baby hat


Tunisian honey comb st head band
 
Cable crochet head band
 
So I have been busy with my crochet and have many more projects cued up.
This is my place to share with you and also keep my memorable crochet addiction in a place that I can reflect upon.
Thanks for reading, happy crafting.