Crocheted Hat

One crocheted hat...two ways to style it. The first is the slouchy beanie. More hip according to my model.

The second is the cuffed beanie. 

I used this pattern and omitted the pompom on top and the colored stripe. The finished length is longer than the pattern. It measures 11.5 inches from the crown to the edge. The yarn is Lionbrand Homespun. I didn't love working with the yarn. I had never used it before and because of the twist I found it difficult to see where my stitches were. Thank goodness crochet is forgiving because there are probably lots of mistakes! It does make a really soft hat though.

Baby Hat

Is it just me or are babies more adorable in a hat with ears? I find them irresistible! This hat would be so much cuter on the head of my grandson, but he wasn't available for a photo op! Just use your imagination on how cute this is going to look on him.

I knitted the hat using this Lionbrand pattern...super easy. Any beginner can knit it. (In other words if I can knit it, anyone one can!) The ears are crocheted using a half double crochet. I found the pattern here. The first part of the video shows how to crocheted a hat so you will have to fast forward toward the end to find the video on making the ears. The basic pattern is:

Chain 5

Join at the first chain

Chain 1

Make 10 half double crochet through the center of the ring

Join to the first half double crochet

Chain 1

Do 2 half double crochet in each of the next 8 half double crochet

Make an edging by working a reverse single crochet in each half double crochet.

Finish off and sew your ears to your hat.

It would be a snap to vary the hat by alternating stripes in two coordinating colors or by making the ears in a contrasting color or variegated yarn color. You could even have the inner part of the ear in one color and the outer part in the main color. This is so easy to whip up, your baby could have a different hat for each month! Just IMAGINE! :)

Linking up to MakeIt-LoveIt.

Crocheted Robot

This cute little robot came together easily although it turned out to be a lot bigger than I expected. I don't know why, since the directions specifically say 4 inches wide x 9 inches tall. Guess I missed that info, duh!

Even if he doesn't quite cut it as a favorite toy, he looks pretty darn cute just sitting on a dresser or the bed in grandson's room.

The eyes and mouth are embroidered on, so no choking hazards here. 

The pattern is found in this book. There are several good patterns to be made including cute sweaters, boots and slippers. My only complaint is that the little ones grow up too fast for me to keep up with getting many of the projects made!! The directions employ stitch diagrams which I haven't used before, but after I got the hang of them, I liked them and they kept me on track with the stitch increases and decreases. If you make "Bert the Bot", crochet fairly tightly to help keep the stuffing from showing through your stitches too much.

Monkey Business

It has been a long while since our last posting. Time has gotten away from us, but we are getting back on track. We're in the process of doing some re-organization on the blog. (That is the typical resolution for January, isn't it?) So please excuse our mess while we clean up and reorder a bit. Click on the title to read the entire post.

I had to make another amigurumi...this time for my little grand-daughter. These toys crochet up so quickly and are so cute they are addicting. Say hello to Molly.

Her long arms are the perfect size for little ones to grab and hang onto and manipulate into their mouths for chewing on. I embroidered her facial features instead of putting on the safety eyes because I don't trust those things. Embroidered eyes aren't such a choking hazard.

Isn't she cute? Seriously, I could end up making a whole zoo of these. Mom

Source for pattern: Amigurumi World Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. The directions were clear and easy to follow.

What's In A Name

They used to be called stuffed toys, but now there is a fancy new word...amigurumi. Get this, amigurumi is Japanese for knitted stuffed toy!! Go figure! Well at any rate I am broadening my foreign language vocabulary. I have to admit that these little toys are too cute. So I had to make one for Mr. T.

 The pattern came from this book and it is crocheted instead of knitted. There are tons of patterns available for knitting or crocheting any kind of animal. I also got this book just because there were even more cute animals. Not only are there patterns for animals, but robots, food, people...just about anything!

Looks like I will be getting lots of practice crocheting. Have you seen any cute amigurumis? Mom

A Tisket A Tasket

Crocheted baskets! Back in the olden days...that would be the '70's I crocheted a lot. But there are only so many afghans you can have and given that the yarn we used then was akin to polyester pantsuits, it just doesn't wear out. In fact my husband still enjoys wrapping up in an afghan that his grandmother made in the early 1970's. That thing will long outlast us! Oh! I digress...as I was saying I crocheted a lot, but stopped doing it when the afghans were piling up in the linen closet.

Just recently though I have rediscovered that crocheting has gone through a modernizing facelift and now there are so many new and interesting patterns available for crocheting...like these baskets. How great is that!! I wasn't sure if I would be able to follow the directions as it has been so long since I have picked up a crochet hook, but happily I discovered it is like riding a bike. It all comes back to you. I was especially happy when they turned out looking like baskets. Since I used a thicker yarn they came out quite a bit bigger than the suggested yarn, but I think they would be great as baskets to take to the farmers market or to hold those extra pieces of fabric or yarn that seem to multiply in our craft rooms or to put items in for a trip to the beach. I ended up giving these to my daughter and daughter-in-law so now I have to make one for myself. Crocheting makes me happy so I am really glad to find that it is back in style....and not just for granny squares! Mom