Conquering Crochet Friday - The Addiction of Crochet Bunnies

Hello Friday, it's that time again

 to show you what crochet creation I've made this week

Last week I was quite taken with the little bunny that Leonie made so last weekend the knitting was dropped, and I picked up my hook to make these cute critters. 

I started with the bunny first as that is true to the Easter Bunnies pattern from the Green Dragon Fly Blog, and quite quickly I could see how addictive these are to make...

And how fun it is to have one of your own......soon there were requests for a Hamster, Polar Bear, Platypus, Dog, Pig and Lion

(I've whittled that list down to three )

As you can see I started with the Lion first

Though he does look more like a hamster with a weird hairdo than a Lion! I used this tutorial to create the hair and this time I stitched on felt for the eyes with a little white stitch 

for his eyes to come alive.

Also a great technique that was used throughout the pattern was the magic loop, that replaces the chain 4 or 6 circle to crochet into.

It creates a nice tight circle without a hole in the centre, which is perfect when you're making toys like these.

Louanna from NZ Green Buttons has a great tutorial to show you how you do this.....its worth checking out as it makes such a difference to your end result.

And as my confidence grows, and I learn how to increase and decrease I'm dreaming about bigger projects....my Ravelry favourites list is getting bigger by the day, as I start evening the amount of knitting patterns with crocheted loveliness!

Here's just a few that have caught my eye this week.....

A bit of sewing and crochet combined with this sweet little purse

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbon-accent-bag

And with winter around the corner, I'm thinking of warm woolies 

like this cute tunic/dress.....it would be perfect layering over long sleeved tees and leggings for Lil Miss

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/girls-lace-pinafore

And lastly there's this...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hooded-capelet-2

Isn't that adorable!!

Show and Tell - My Lil Honey

There's a few of you that have been watching this grow on Instagram as I've slowly plodded along 

with this cardigan for Lil Miss...look at that little tummy!

Just in time I've finished, just as the rainy and cold weather have started to settle in.

A bit of lacework to make it interesting enough to knit, and alot of 
plain st st, so it was an ideal project to rug up on the couch with.

Pattern:  My Honey by Anadiomena's Designs

Good instructions, seamless and a sweet shape, but what I didn't like were some of the increases stitches that she suggested. 

Wool: Colour 4 Me from Shepherd

I'm disappointed that I've already had to de-pill this wool after a couple of days wear ( I use ladies razors ), and although I like to support my local haberdashery down the road, I think I need to make another order with Skeinz, as I have'nt had that issue with theirs.

And in the background is another Project on the go....

My white shelves! I've painted two thirds so far....the last section I'll tackle when I'm in the mood again....it's just one of those things for me!

It's made a huge difference to my living room, now that the previous, dark brown stain is nearly gone, and I reckon it makes my fabric pop too! So pretty....ahhhh!

And to end with a little something cheezy.....here's MY Lil Honey

Or what I normally to call her.... "my cheeky monkey"

Linking in with Leonie at Show and Tell

Conquering Crochet Friday - On a Saturday

We've all been rugged up on the couch in the last couple of days with some random virus, so really its a Saturday Conquering Crochet this week....

This morning feeling a bit better, I managed to get a few snaps of my latest Crochet project, some nice and easy Hair bows.

Using this tutorial, from Craftiness is not Optional, I tried my hand at some Half double crochet or Half Treble 

which ever you like to call it...

yes the dreaded US versus UK term for crochet stitches, another thing I've learnt that's important to check on a pattern before you get started.  Here's a good crochet stitch conversion Chart

And then there is also checking you know how to do a stitch, probably before you moan to experienced crocheters how difficult a half treble is to do!.....that will be why the orange bow in the middle looks smaller than the blue and red ones.....

apparently I had made up a stitch!  Ooops :)

But now I know the correct way, these little bows have been alot quicker and easier to whip up, and again pretty cute!

And it looks like they're also fun to use for dressing up your toys

What drew me to the little bows is this cute hat 

Source: creativeyarn.blogspot.co.nz via Laura on Pinterest

Being ambitious, I wouldn't mind giving this a go....it would look pretty cute on Lil Miss this winter. 
But I thought for now, the little clips were a wiser option.....maybe instead, for now I could try my hand at the bobble stitch and make this bow?  Though probably not as big as this.

Lululoves.co.uk - Chunky Bobble Bow

Oh and before I forget, I've also crocheted some Crochet Bunting Love a couple of weeks ago which you can see here 

Show and Tell - Some Sneaking gift Giving

As I said a few posts ago, I've been busy creating some sneaky gifts.

There's been alot of Crochet Bunting love going on at Debs house,

And I loved being part of that

Not only did I get to give, which always feels great, I also challenged myself with this little heart decoration.
I had to make it a few times before I finally got the hang of it, but it turned out pretty cute once I did. 

The pattern was from the Simply Crochet Magazine that Leonie gifted me when I was in Christchurch ( so generous : )  And when I saw via instagram that Deb wanted to learn more than just a chain stitch, I popped in the magazine too :)  Also I just read that Make Cafe are starting to stock that Magazine...so I need to get my hands on another one!


Here's the other little gift that I can show you now, 
it's a cute wee vest called a Milo.

I love Tikki Knits patterns, but this is my first Milo.  It's such a cute and quick little vest to knit up.  

I took alot of knitting projects with me to Christchurch, but I found the patterns I'd chosen were not conducive to knitting while chatting, and I kept making a heap of mistakes....so Deb passed me this pattern, and a big ball of wool.....and the first thing that sprang to my mind, was lovely Max and her gorgeous little boy Findlay...

I was even lucky enough to give him some cuddles while I was there....so precious, and the first time I've held a little baby boy for a long time...it brought back a lot of lovely memories.

And because owls have a special meaning in our family I decided to leave my mark on this little vest too....

The little owl is one of the cable options on the pattern

Also, so I didn't leave out Findlays big sister, I included this little headband I made last week....

Max tells me its not been taken off since she received it, and she also found another use for it as a pirate flower power patch! Cute :)

Joining in with Leonie at Sunshine x 3

Conquering Crochet Friday

Welcome to Conquering crochet Friday

What is it all about?
Well ever since I was introduced to crochet by my 
Mother in law (granny square royalty!),
 I have yearned to learn the art of Crochet.
Being a lefty, I struggled with it, trying to learn from my MIL as a righty, just wasn't working....so I gave up in disgust.
Instead I admired it from a far, wishing one day I'd get over my cack handedness ( yip! made up a word ) and conquer the world of all things crochet!

Fast forward several years, and a growing wish list of 
crochet projects later, 
I've finally developed my own way.....apparently I hold the hook like a knife ( very back to front ) and slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of this hookin.

But apparently I'm not the only one....I see there's alot of you out there, picking up your hooks and giving it go like me.....
so that's where " Conquering Crochet Friday " comes into play.

Every Week I will be writing a post, about my latest crochet project, tips I've learnt, and projects I'm coveting to complete one day!!
Maybe I could even rope in our local Crochet gurus to give up their trade secrets??? I loved to know what you think.....

Until then, here for the first week is a headband or three I made

Cute isn't it!
To be honest, I've made a bunch of these flowers before, a couple years back when I first started conquering crochet....it took a number of attempts though, before I got the hand of it, and like riding a bike I haven't forgotten.

You too, can find the pattern from Rose Hip Blog here, I made this with just the two repeats of petals, unlike the three on the pattern.

And for the headband itself...
I started with three equal lengths of chain stitch plaited together to form the band....which you can see below on my first headband 
   

It was okay, but I wanted to improve on this so I made another, this time chaining 61 chains, and single crocheting into each chain....starting with the second chain from the hook.
When I got to the end I chained 1, and single crocheted another row, same as the previous.  
 

 

And yes it looked nice.......but I had trouble making it using a crochet technique I learnt last week where on the first row you crochet into the bumps/back bar on the back of the chain st, which in turn creates a nice chain edge to the band.  See the below video for a explanation

 

So I tried again, this time using a 5mm hook to do my foundation chain and a 4mm to do the single crochet...this was so much easier and I only needed to do one row! And here's my third and final headband

 

For now atleast......I can see this being my go to girl present when I'm in the need of something cute in a hurry..
 Below you can see how I made the headband stretchy

I used a 1/4 inch elastic, tied it into a loop and then tied that loop in half again to stabilise it.....then I sewed the headband loops over the elastic ends.....attached the flower, and voila.... one cute headband!
 
So the question is who want's to join me on my quest?? 
Do you?
 

  

Show and Tell.....Getting Distracted

During the school break in Taupo, I took my sewing machine along with me. I had good intentions of sewing up a bunch of clothing....

Yeah, well, best intentions are all good, but when my Sister in law introduced me to Bananagrams....and I'm a word game fiend!, that side overtook me and a majority of my week was spent, roping people in to play with me! 

So that pile of clothing I wanted to make, ending up being one pair of shorts.....which I was really stoked with.

The black corduroy teamed up really well with the skull cotton twill and my mock fly worked as planned. 

I even adjusted the pattern to include buttonhole elastic so that the waist could be adjusted on my skinny Mr B.

But that's where the problem started....I used the same pattern from a couple years ago, and I adjusted a tailored pattern that was meant to have a front zip, to a flat front, with an elasticated waist......I realised my oopsie once the last hem had been sewn, and figured if he could get it past his bum, it would be alright to wear for a few months.....and I was right! Yay!!

for a day at least....

Until the unfortunate happened

Yip, a tear in the buttocks!! 

Lesson learnt! Don't get distracted by Bananagrams!!

Joining in with Leonie at Show and Tell

Being on the receiving end..

Lets rewind back to a few weeks ago, where I received a bounty of beautiful things when I was in Christchurch.

Starting with Friday night at Miriams where I was greeted with a bag full of pressies......the first of which included this lovely bag that Juliet made for me as part of my Scrap Bag Swap...

it was lovely to receive it in person.

And filled to the brim were a variety of lovely fabrics which have filled a void in my stash......and as I write this I realise I've forgotten to take that photo......I hope you can imagine, as its taken me a while just to get the photos I have here.

I put it to good use straight away.....and it's now officially my project knitting bag.....infact the other day I had it sitting down next to me with the sewing book that she gave me last year,

 and it made me smile :)

Along with that pressie, was a pencil name badge Miriam made for a blog post here ( yes forgot that photo too! ) and the book Anton and the battle.....I had won it on Miriams blog a while back and I had forgotten! (seem to forgetting alot ) It was a lovely surprise.....and it's been a hit with my youngest two.

The page below gives you idea of the storyline.....its such a familiar thing to hear in our house.....makes me chuckle that someone wrote a book about it!

And then there was Saturday, when I met my swap partner Fiona Marie at the Bloggers conference.

For the $5 pressie, she made this gorgeous Liberty Print purse, which had three buttons inside ( there's a cow missing ) and a mini sewing kit...can you see the needle? and the extra thread? its sewn through as decorative stitches....cute idea isn't it.   And also there is the name badge.....where? I suspect a little girl has nabbed it along with the missing cow button, and hidden it in some treasure box or purse

And then later that day, while Stella and I went back home to Debs place to relax.....we were admiring all the beautiful collections in her house, when I spotted this gorgeous flour sifter.....I exclaimed how beautiful it was, and that I'd always wanted an old fashioned sifter....and right then and there Deb handed it to me, and told me I could have it!......Speechless!!!! Couldn't believe it.....how generous is that?  And here it is.....I just love it!

I'm lucky enough to now have it as part of my collection....and it gives me pure joy to see this everyday in my kitchen.....I just love the colours and the folk art style print.....I think one day I will base a quilt around this....these colours are so me!

So there you have it.....isn't being part of the bloggers community awesome!?.....not only do they comment on your newest creations or console you on a bad day....you make more friends and as a big bonus you receive beautiful gifts such as these.