Lil Cutesies Irish Dress

When possible I try to make different outfits for the Lil Cutesies holiday outfits to send off in the holiday packages. The first one was based Amy Carrico Crochet World Bonus pattern. This outfit uses the hat and shoes from that pattern but the dress is based on the Lots to Love 8 inch Valentine dress I made from Annie Potter's Holiday Babies available for purchase here.

The dress and hat are made with worsted yarn. All the white yarn and the green for the shoes are Red Heart sport yarn.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all

I'm celebrating by remembering my holiday themed projects

St. Patrick's Day Cupcake

I know it isn't even Valentine's Day and I am already posting about St. Patrick's Day?? Well the reality is that if you are going to make stuff and mail it you have to start well before the holiday in question. COVID has only made the mailing situation more challenging so getting these projects finished and ready to be mailed is even more essential.

I was quite surprised to find this pattern in Kawaii Crochetas St. Patrick's Day patterns aren't all that common. This is a color themed book and I guess green was a good time to introduce a St. Patrick's Day themed item.

This pattern is designed for lighter yarn but my stock of light green cotton yarn in multiple shades was limited so I went with acrylic worsted weight yarn and I wasn't disappointed with the outcome. I used an e hook for this project.

I hope to finish a couple more St. Patrick's themed items and a few more breakfast items and then have this package on its way so it hopefully arrives before the holiday.

Square Crow Garland

I've been adding to my fall decorations and still on the lookout for new ideas. Looking at the October edition of Crochet World I found the Square Crow Garland. Not a typo but a mash up of granny squares and scarecrow.

Crochet garlands are something I've been adding to my holiday decorations over the last couple of years. I just find them fun to make and display.

These scarecrows or square crows as the title of the pattern states are primarily made from granny squares using worsted weight 4 yarn. My one major issue with this pattern is the gauge. The pattern calls for an I hook to make a gauge of 7 dc=1 inch. The first square crow I made was adorable but far too large to be practical for a garland. I'll admit I didn't check gauge for the first one. He's now become a separate decoration. I did check gauge before starting this guy. I was at a D hook before I was even close to an inch for 7dc and I wasn't going down to a C hook.

One other note there are 3 sizes of granny squares used in this project. The largest size is used for the hat. I found the hat to be too big for my square crows head so I used the medium granny for the hat and I was happy with the fit. If that changes with the remaining square crows I will note that when I write them up. I need 7 to finish the garland.

Once you get passed figuring out the sizing these are fun and rather easy to make and I'm looking forward to completing the set so I can hang them up with my fall decorations.

St. Patrick's Day Baby Hat

I've been branching out this year and trying some new projects. I've made doll hats, but never a baby hat. The Bibs & Bonnets leaflet that I got the pattern for the Shamrock bib also had a hat. Since I'd not made one before it seemed worth a try. One of the challenges of working with out of print patterns is the yarn used in the original pattern is often been discontinued. Even when you have a gauge there is no guarantee you have have the right yarn. You kind of have to play with it a bit to make it work. My first attempt will end up being donated as a doll's hat once I make a dress to go with it. As I said making gauge does not ensure a good match for the project.

Once I understood the directions for the brim, the second hat worked up easier.

Pattern notes:

I used Knit Picks Brava Dublin and Peapod yarn for the hat. The hat pattern had a shamrock decoration for the hat, but it was kind of thick and heavy so I decided to use the shamrock pattern from the bookmark I made previously. You can find the pattern here.

I am no fan of sewing so instead of crocheting the light green insert and sewing it in, I used the open row of stitches from row 11 and did a row of dc and then a row of sc to provide the hat band. It didn't provide the texture of the original pattern, but it was much easier than the prescribed pattern directions.

St. Patrick's Day Bear

This is the first project in a while that I really wanted to keep. I fell in love with this little fellow. However, he will be making his way to his new home after his new owner gets into her new home.

I found this free pattern here while searching for a bear pattern for this project. I was going to purchase this one here as it comes as a complete set, but when I started this project it hadn't been released as a single pattern. It was only available as a set and I didn't want the rest of the patterns in the set. Perhaps it will work for next year if I'm still doing these. Then again he's cute enough I might want one of each of these for my house.

Now for my notes, I started doing this project in worsted weight acrylic yarn and even with a smaller hook the bear was huge. For my house it might make a cool decoration. For the child it is going to it would have been a monster. So, I used Knit Picks cotton sport weight yarn I had left over from making the Christmas bib and the yarn I'd hoped to make a St. Patrick's day bib with to make the toy. I believe there is a mix of the Cotton Sports comfort and shine.

The hat came from two other free patterns as clearly the bear pattern was just the cute bear and his shorts. The hat can be found here. The buckles can be found at the same designer different article here. The biggest change was hook size to get it to match my bear's head, but you will have to adjust to fit it to your bear as needed.

An additional note about the pants these are constructed making the pant legs first and connecting them to form the pants. You will want to make sure the legs fit over the bears legs before continuing. After crocheting tightly making the ami, my stitches were too tight making the first leg and the pant leg would not fit over the bears leg. I had to make a second one watching myself to ensure I did not crochet too tightly. The second two worked fine. I generally prefer to work from the waist down and split the crotch making the legs that way, however with the stripes it worked better using this method. The shorts really were adorable. The light green had been used on some Christmas projects and was left over. I had just enough to finish the shorts without digging into another skein.

Valentine Heart Dishcloth

I love holiday dishcloths and pot holders. It is a quick and easy way to decorate and quite practical. This is another pattern from Month by Month Dishcloths. While I'd like the heart to be a little rounder, I love the color blends and most especially the flower. I can see me using the flower for other projects as it is quite pretty and works up quickly and easily.

This was a gift, but I'm already getting another one on the hooks for my own house. I hope to have a selection of Valentine's dishcloths done before the holiday hits.

Tobogganing Snowmen the Second One is Complete

I finished the second snowman from Tobogganing Snowmen pattern. This is the first instance where the Red Heart Kids Crayon might have been a better option than the yarn I was trying to destash. I was working on finishing off some bright colored Lily Sugar'n Cream for the earmuffs and the scarf. The Red Heart yarn might have been easier to manipulate, but it still worked out in the end.

The toboggan is finished and my Aunt will be by tomorrow to teach me the art of using glue to stiffen projects. Therefore, I should have this project completed for my husband to bring into his office next week. I am not too concerned about a rush as he plans to keep it in there all winter.


Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Tobogganing Snowmen Wednesday's Work in Progress

My husband kindly purchased the Tobogganing Snowmen pattern for me with the idea that one would eventually make its way to his office. The first snowman is completed and the second one only needs his earmuffs to be done. I played with the toboggan pattern a bit, but now it only needs some stiffener and it will be finished.

I have never tried adding blush to an amigurumi before. I love the look. I will consider using this technique on future projects.

I am on a stash busting effort so I did not use the suggested Red Heart Kids Crayon. I actually worked on finishing off some bright colored Lily Sugar'n Cream scraps I had left over from another project.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Cat Bell

This was the third and final Halloween bell I made based on the Seasonal Bell pattern from the February 2001 edition of Hooked on Crochet (Number 85). The cat portion was improvised from previous finger puppets I had made using Caron One Pound Black and some scrap yarn I had left over for the eyes and nose. The bell was made from Red Heart Super Saver Plum Pudding.

The pattern provides ideas for holiday bells year round so I will be starting on the Thanksgiving ones soon.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Pumpkin Bell

This was the second Halloween bell I made based on the Seasonal Bell pattern from the February 2001 edition of Hooked on Crochet (Number 85). The pumpkin is the pumpkin head from the Halloween Lovey Doll found in the September/October 2011 Crochet Today. The Seasonal pattern comes with flat holiday bell handles, but I prefer the amigurumi style so I played with the pattern.

The final bell is finished and I am struggling with the idea of calling this package finished. I have some Halloween treat bags I could start. However, I have dinos to finish for a Church donation, a Color Swap I am working on at Crochetville, two different 18" doll projects I need to get started on, the Thanksgiving box that has yet to be started, and birthdays and Christmas gifts that need to be done before December. I think it is time to close the door on Halloween and move forward. There is always next year to take on the Halloween stuff I have not had time to play with this year.


Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Bat Bell

As I have posted several times, I love old pattern books and magazines. I recently purchased a bunch of magazines and found some wonderful patterns to try.

This pattern is based on the bat bell from the Seasonal Bell pattern from the February 2001 edition of Hooked on Crochet (Number 85). The pattern bat is not made in the amigurumi style. It is two flat bats sewn together to form the bell handle. I found it easier to start with a basic finger puppet and work from that model. Metal bells finish the piece to give it the bell sound. The pattern includes different bells for various holidays. I have two Halloween bells made and am finishing a third for my Halloween box.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without written permission.