Headbands for Christmas }{ crochet pattern

I'm thinking this will be the last in a series of crochet and knitting posts I've been writing.

Following the headband and the scarf, today I'm sharing the pattern I used for the flowers I used in the girls' headbands for Christmas. It's a modified version of a flower pattern I learned a while back, but I can't remember where I got it from.

The pattern itself is simple and easy, but I wanted to share it because of the scalloped edges it creates. Making scalloped edges in crochet projects creates a cute little detail and it's so easy. The secret is to crochet some double or half double crochet stitches in the same stitch, then skip the next and slip stitch in the following stitch. Easy, right? You'll see what I mean in the pattern below.

In terms of yarn and hooks, I used an E hook and sport weight yarn, but that can be changed. Play around with different weights and hooks to find the results you like best.

CH = chain
DC = double crochet
SL = slip stitch

Pattern for base:

1. CH 17
2. Row 1: In 5th ch from the hook (including the chain on the hook, count 5 backwards), DC. *ch 1, skip the next ch, then DC, ch 1, DC in the following chain*. Repeat steps between ** until you reach the end. 
3. Row 2: CH 3, turn. This will be your first "DC" in this row. 5 DC in first ch 1 space, *SL in the next ch 1 space, 6 DC in the next ch 1 space*. Repeat steps between ** until the end of the row.
4. Tie it off leaving a long tale for sewing the flower together with a tapestry needle, then attaching it to the headband.

Pattern for second layer:

1. CH 17
2. Row 1: In 5th ch from the hook (including the chain on the hook, count 5 backwards), 5 DC. *skip the next ch, sl in the following ch, 6 DC in the next*. Repeat steps between ** until you reach the end. 
3. Tie it off leaving a long tale for sewing the flower together with a tapestry needle, then attaching it to the flower base.

The princess asked me to add a "jewel" to the middle and I let her pick one for me to attach with hot glue. Done! Then reluctantly, the dragon modeled the finished headbands.

what's this you've got on my head, mom?

A day for giving thanks

I love Thanksgiving.

It's the one holiday, squeezed between two other awesome but very commercialized holidays, that still centers around family. At least for us it does. It's not that I don't love Christmas, I do. Believe me, I do. But there's just something fulfilling about thanksgiving and getting together with the family for a big feast. I like the idea of taking time to reflect on the things I am grateful for, and we do it almost every day before bed or at dinner time. But then, to have a special day dedicated to that, that's just gravy.

So, in honor of this great holiday, here's my list of 10 things I am thankful for (in no particular order).

The princess drew this for me at school

1. Life: waking up everyday to a brand new day, alive and healthy.
2. Beauty: take a look outside and find beauty around you. It's there.
3. Family: it's a given, but I love my family so much. All of them, even when I'm mad at them.
4. Laughter: its infectious, and the cure for the worst cases of the blues. Go figure.
5. Friends: a second family that I've chosen myself. Here's to making new ones and finding long lost others.
6. Opportunity: I've been given so many great opportunities, though I haven't succeeded in all.
7. This blog: it's been neglected but never abandoned because it makes me so happy and provides an outlet for my scattered brain.
8. You: my bloggy friends who still take time to stop by, read a bit, and say hello sometimes. You make my life happier.
9. My husband: life would be so much sadder without him to share it with.
10. My daughters: yeah, they're family of course, but they get a special place of their own. I'm so thankful and amazed that they're here.

And speaking of family, here's what I received from mine. My aunt sent me these adorable mittens for N1 (the princess) and the cutest hat for N2 (the dragon). One day I hope to be as good as she is with crochet...

Thank you for stopping by!

Easy scarf and headband }{ Knitting

Remember the scarf I mentioned back in September? I realized I never shared the finished product with you. I added some pockets at the end of the scarf in a simple way, made this headband, and added a bright flower to the headband. I quite like it and decided it was worth sharing the pattern for it.

Materials:

• Size US 13 knitting needles 
• Bulky yarn

I didn't measure the gauge because I feel like scarves are so flexible. It's really up to you to decide what feels most comfortable in terms of width and length. So follow these instructions with the caveat that length and width can and should be adjusted to fit you and your taste.

What I did:

1. Cast on 14 stitches (this is where you would adjust the width - anywhere between 10 and 18, with 10 being very, very thin)
2. Rows 1-12: knit straight through
3. Row 13: purl
4. Row 14: knit
5. Row 15: purl
6. Row 16: knit
7. Rows 17-28: purl
8. Row 29: knit
9. Row 30: purl
10. Row 31: knit
11. Row 32: purl
12. Repeat rows 1-32 until you're satisfied with the length.
13. Once it's as long as you want it, repeat it one more time (to have enough scarf for pockets). Bind off and weave loose yarn. Fold both ends on their wrong sides, just enough to form two pockets that fit your hands. Sew the sides and turn them right side out. 

I'd share a self-portrait wearing them but the Dragon doesn't let me sleep enough, or wear clothes long enough without spitting up to allow for a decent photo. Maybe soon.

How are you keeping warm this Fall? 

More Crochet

Here I am , waiting for the election results and thinking that I should have done some patriotic crafting. Ah, well, my brain has been busy with other things lately. 

Like crochet. More of it.

Check out this book that I just bought the other day: Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies.

With 20 projects of adorable and wearable food related crochet, it's been making me drool since I first saw it. It's got a cupcake hat, cookie scarf, carrot scarf, and probably my favorite - spaghetti with meatballs scarf.

Yep. How could I pass that up? So I've been mulling it over and trying to decide what to do first. It's going to depend on who it will be for. I'll let you know and share the results soon I hope. 

Quick crochet headband

Fall still has me in the mood for the needle arts, but this time the little misses got to choose the color (well, the princess did). So pink it is!

This headband is so easy and quick, I've been making it left and right for different girls in my life. It truly is the "genius" headband as the original designer calls it. By the way, that designer is Elizabeth Alan of the Lovely Crow (you should check out her facebook and Ravelry pages). She offers this pattern for free with youtube videos to help you along (though it's an easy pattern to begin with).

The original was a bit wider than I like, however, so I modified it slightly. Here's how my modifications ended up:

before weaving in the loose ends

1. chain 7
2. Row 1 - slip stitch on the third chain from the hook and chain 3, slip stitch on the last chain and chain 4
3. Row 2 - slip stitch through the first oval and chain 3, slip stitch through the last oval and chain 4
4. repeat row 2 until you're happy with the length. Finish your last row without the chain 4.
5. Tie the two ends together by: chain 2 from the end of the last row, slip stitch through the first oval in row 1, chain 2, slip stitch through the first oval in the last row, chain 2, slip stitch through the last oval in row 1, chain 2, slip stitch through the last oval in the last row, chain 2, slip stitch through a chain on the edge of row 1.
6. Weave in loose ends with tapestry needle.

That gives you a headband that's thinner and with only two little oval loops on each row. Here's the princess modeling hers for me:

Any quick and easy patterns/crafts to share?

More sweet crochet

Remember this post? I forgot to show you all the finished cupcake. So here it is.

Whenever N. asks me to make something for her, I let her choose the color combination and the style. She's never asked for anything crazy yet, thankfully. Even though I'm making it, I want her to start thinking about the colors and how they go together. And I want her to be able to make her own choices (within reason).

But sometimes I feel like I'm creating a little monster, she's become so particular about clothes and shoes...

What about you? How much choice do you think younger children should be able to have in their daily life? Is it different in the domain of aesthetics?

Sweet crochet }{ tutorial

It's been a while since I've shown any crochet or knitting and lately I've been working with it again. I'm getting some things done for the baby girl arriving soon. But what I want to share today is a request from N.

She saw the book "Yummy Crochet" by Kristen Rask and asked me to make her a doughnut. No problem, easy and quick. But then she wanted a cherry on top and a candle. Hmmm. I decided to try and come up with my own.

Here it is: a rough pattern for a small crochet cherry (not quite a proper tutorial, oops).

sc = single crochet
st = stitch

*make a sloppy slip knot and chain two (or magic ring)
round 1: 6sc in first stitch (or 6sc in magic ring)
round 2: 1sc in each st then flip it inside out (so that the tail can go inside the berry)
If you want a bigger cherry, keep repeating that: 1sc in each st until you're happy with the size. It will be long though. For a rounder one, there's a different pattern. I'll share that another day.
round 3: 1sc, skip 1st (you'll have 3 stitches)
round 4: chain 3 and tie it off. Alternatively, you can chain one and tie it off leaving a tail as the cherry's stem

She liked it so much that now she's asking for a cupcake and then cookies. Such a sweet crochet tooth...

What food would you like to see as crochet?

Crochet dreams

Help! I need a translator for an urgent matter!

Well, ok, it's not urgent, but right about now I'm seriously wishing I had continued studying Japanese.

My husband went to Osaka and just got back this past weekend. And he came bringing oodles of goodies for both N. and myself (poor little bun in the oven got left out though). It was like Christmas in May... and have you ever noticed how the Japanese seem to have perfected the art of cute? Their fashion is pretty awesome too.

In any case, one of the goodies I got was this crochet magazine.

I love the outfits they have in there, and the accessories... *drool*

Problem is... all the patterns are in Japanese! And although I can read hiragana and katakana, my knowledge of kanji is just not enough to follow the patterns (fyi: these three systems mentioned make up the Japanese writing system, along with some use of the Latin alphabet we use). Japanese patterns usually include lots of pictures and illustrations to help you follow along, and I have used some in the past to sew for N. But I can't read these crochet ones and it's killing me.

I'm wondering if it's possible to read them if I get someone with more experience in crochet... Any takers?

Mini drawstring bags

We had such an eventful weekend over here. It was my husband's birthday and he was home, so we celebrated it with a small party. It was so much fun - friends, good food, and lots of playing. I made some shrimp dip for the crackers, and chocolate cake with brigadeiro frosting and raspberry preserves for the filling.

We also had further proof that our little one is quite the sensitive child - we went to a live entertainment show and she was terrified of the dark lights and loud speakers.

I've also been continuing to work on things for the shop. I finished making some mini drawstring bags, complete with crochet flowers attached. I know some of you were wondering what I'm planning to sell. Well, to be honest, a bit of everything just like on the blog. I just like all the different crafts too much! So,  the shop will have small items of sewing, photography, watercolor, drawing/sketching, crochet and knitting... It's a hodge podge of crafts.

It's been such a busy month already and it will only get busier. I say, bring on the challenges, summer. I love it!

How has your summer been so far?

*Glub, glub* A fish is born

Short post today, as I'm feeling quite sick and will be returning to bed shortly.

Just had to share that I am done with the little fish! Woot, my first crochet piece is finished!

Here's a visual progression of sorts. 

Ok, back to bed to dream of my next projects.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. 

"Adventures" in crocheting

A few weeks ago, or at least it feels like weeks ago, I talked about learning how to crochet and my first project being an amigurumi. As promised, I'm posting an update on the progress of my little fish.

It is taking me a long time to move along with this project, partly because it's my first crochet piece, partly because I wasn't thinking. I kept losing count of rows and stitches, then I would go back and start an entire section over again. Until it dawned on me "why am I not using a place holder to mark where the row starts?!?"

Yeah, I know. You're probably thinking "how is this chick getting a PhD?" Well, in my defense, it isn't on crochet. :)

So now, things are moving along a bit faster. We'll see if I ever finish.

And if you're curious about the pattern and what it's supposed to look like when it's finished: I got it from this book (Kristen Rask's "Creature Crochet").

See the little fish? Yep, that's my buddy. 

So, am I the only one? Would anybody like to share an "oops" moment in their crafting?

Sharing a first

I did it. 

(excuse my dry winter hands)

I crocheted my first patch: an adjustable ring. Yep, I've been knitting for years now but only now did I finally pick up crochet needles and got down to business. I used this video to help me figure out how to do it. Don't you just love the resources we have available on the internet?

I want to do a little amigurumi to learn - the only way I learn anything is actually working on projects. I'll share my progress as it goes forward here.

Something else I'd like to share with you. My grandma is an amazing artist and crafter. She lives a long ways away from me and I miss her. Every time I try to pick up something new like crochet, I think of her. Every time I learn a new technique or work on a new pattern, I think of her. She's a huge inspiration to me. (Que saudades, vovo Mag)

Do you have someone who inspires you?