A butterfly variation

I'm finishing up a purple patchwork blanket for a very nice customer over at my Etsy shop. She asked if I could add a butterfly to it, so I used a pattern by Teresa over at CrochetGeek, but I altered it slightly. Here is my finished flutterby.

My variation: I used three colors and added a third round of the lilac color using a sc and 2 ch picot in the middle of each wing on the last round.

Pig pattern

I'm still working on my pattern writing skills. I must admit, they're pretty lacking, but that's partly because (I have two kids under the age of 6, and) I haven't figured out the best way to keep track of my scribbles, aka chicken scratch, when I'm coming up with new ideas.

I'm usually jotting down notes on a folded piece of paper from my son's schoolwork. I hate throwing away or recycling paper that's only been used on one side, so I always fold them to use for grocery lists...or my crochet patterns! Maybe I need a proper notebook, but my scrappy papers will have to do until I can get my act together.

Then there's the task of trying to decipher what I wrote and put it into a form that makes sense to others! Anyway, with all of that said...

My instructions are for the pieces and parts of the pig - a standard dc beanie can be found on many sites. Personally, I most often start with a ch 4 ring and work 10 dc into it, then 2dc into each dc and continue the following rounds increasing in different increments for different sizes (and depending upon what weight yarn I'm using). Oodles4Noodles has a great sizing chart here. It's a nice guide to crown sizing to obtain a certain hat size.

Little Miss Piggy

I used worsted weight yarn and a size I hook. (You can see the pig in pieces here.)

Snout

ch 5, slip to join

round 1: ch1, 3 sc, 3dc, 3 sc, 3 dc, slip into top of 1st sc

round 2: ch2, dc into same st, 2 dc, 2 dc into next 3 sts, 3 dc, 2 dc into next 3 sts, slip to top of first dc

round 3: ch2, (working in back loops only) hdc into each back loop of round 2, slip into top of first hdc (leave 12"-14" tail to sew onto hat) Note: There is no need to stuff snout, round 3 is meant to add a slight depth.

Eyes (2x)

ch4, slip to join
round 1: 10 sc into ring, slip into top of first sc (leave long tail to sew onto hat)

Outer ears (2x)

ch 11

row 1: 1 sc into 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch

row 2 & 3: ch 1, 1 sc in each sc

row 4: ch 1, sc2tog, 1 sc in next 6 sc, sc2tog

row 5: ch1, sc across

row 6: ch 1, sc2tog, 1 sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog

row 7: ch1, sc across

row 8: ch 1, sc2tog, 1 sc in next 2 sc, sc2tog

row 9: ch 1, (sc2tog) twice

row 10: ch 1, sc2tog and fasten off (leave 8"-10" tail to sew onto hat)

Inner ears (2x) Note: I used a size H hook for these.

ch 7

row 1: 1 sc into 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch

row 2 & 3: ch 1, 1 sc in each sc; turn

row 4: ch 1, sc2tog, 1 sc in next 2 sc, sc2tog

row 5: ch1, sc across

row 6: ch 1, (sc2tog) twice

row 7: ch 1, sc2tog and fasten off (leave 8"-10" tail to sew onto outer ear)

Bow

ch 15

row 1: 1 sc into 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch

row 2-5: ch 1, 1 hdc in each st

row 6: (do not turn) *ch 1, sc across to corner*, repeat from * 2 more times, ch 1, slip into top of first st (leave 8"-10" tail to sew onto hat)

Bow "knot"

ch 10

row 1: 1 hdc into 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch

row 2: ch 1, 1 hdc into each ch, fasten off (leave 8"-10" tail to sew onto bow)

Finishing

-Add snout holes (optional) using a contrasting yarn and sew snout with tail to lower center of hat.

-Sew eyes above snout.

-Sew inner ears to outer ears; then sew ears onto hat.

-Wrap bow "knot" around bow (scrunching bow a bit) and sew together at back.

-Sew bow to hat.

Note: If you would like to sell items you have made with my patterns, please do give credit to Tillie Tulip. Thank you.

It's been a hoot.

I finished the parts to my last two hats. My customer requested purple and turquoise-y-blue, so here is the (almost) finished owl.

The elephant is also coming together. Once again, I still need to sew up all of these parts, but I'm pleased with how my ears turned out as well as the little trunk. My customer, Michelle, and I don't care for a droopy trunk hanging from a hat, so I lightly stuffed, then sewed a connection to turn it upward. I think it will look much better when I can attach it to the hat. (Note: I've read an elephant with an upward turned trunk is good luck anyway :)

I think they've all turned out (so far) much like the schematic I drew up. I hope Michelle likes them too!

Hope you have a lovely evening.

Kitty cat hat

I've been working away on a custom order - large throw version of my daisy blanket - as well as these little critter hats.

My little orange tabby cat is in pieces just like Miss Pig, but I'll eventually get these all sewn up. I'm saving that for last. I also only added one whisker to see how the charcoal color looked. I thought black contrasted too much, and I think I'll stick with this softer look.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. We are having unseasonably warm weather, but I'm not complaining!

This little piggy...

I started working on the pig first.

Here she is deconstructed:

I still need to finish her snout and work a sc or hdc band for the bow.

And of course weave in all of those ends... I leave long tails, so that I can sew every together with them. My customer also requested earflaps, so I ditched the scalloped edge in my rendering. I'll add some ties to the flaps after I finish sewing her all together.

(I used Caron One Pound Pink and Black and a mill end light pink I had for the inner ear - name unknown - I used Red Heart Shocking Pink for the bow and edging).

Happy Sunday!

New animal friends

One of my new orders is a request from a very sweet mom up in Maine. Her kids have a few of my blankets already, and she asked if I could work up some new hats. She requested a cat, a pig, an owl and an elephant. Here is the graphic "pattern" I came up with...stay tuned to see how I translate it into yarn!

Long time no blog

I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post! Having a four and five year-old really add to the already hectic holidays. We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you and yours did too.

I was able to finish up quite a few jobs as well as sneak in a new baby blanket (and another cable hat). This one really makes me yearn for spring. Especially after last week's snowfall. I can't really complain; it's been so mild up until now.

I saw this little fellow outside my window this morning.

He doesn't seem to mind the cold at all. Until next time, stay warm!

Having fun with edgings

Here are some photos of the finished edge of my purple patchwork afghan. Of course I can never follow anything without adjusting it in one way or another...the book calls for a dc base and I did hdc and the picots were ch5 and ch9 - I didn't like how loopy they were, so I trimmed them down to ch3 and ch5 picots. They are more nubby, but I like them that way.

Have a wonderful week!

Scrappy purple patchwork

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I've been so busy these days finishing up some large orders for Christmas, I haven't had much time to spend on new designs or posts to this little blog. I did however get Tillie's costume done for Halloween as well as finish up some works-in-progress including this one:

I started it this past summer! I used mainly end-of-skeins that I pack into little Zip Lock bags I always keep handy (I also use baggies for my snipped tails to stuff projects!) These poor little purple squares were sitting around for too long.

Instead of using my usual go-to edgings - sc/dc or scalloped edge - I've decided to use one of the lovely edges from a new book I purchased: Around the Corner Crochet Borders. Once again, Edie Eckman does not disappoint! I'm so pleased. I've got plenty of border books, but not many that address the corners!

There were so many to choose from, but here's the one I picked.

Stay tuned to see how it turns out...

Tillie the mermaid princess

Halloween has come and gone, but I'm finally getting around to posting a photo of Tillie's finished costume. I started a couple of months ago with a crocodile stitch skirt. I wanted her to be able to walk, so I only went to her knees with the pattern and then created a dc "tail" in the front and back - open at the sides. I thought it was cute enough (to be honest, I ran out of time, so I kept it simple!). I made a little bandeau top and was going to crochet some seashells, but ran out of time, so I put a simple flower on one side. The colors were all chosen by Tillie. I just tried to coordinate for a little consistency! She was so excited to wear it, and that's all that mattered.

EtsyMom Color Palette Challenge

I am on a team called EtsyMoms over at Etsy. They are having a challenge for anyone on the team to come up with a creation using one of the three color combinations below.

You must enter your product on October 8. I like all of these color palettes, however, I've decided to go with the first one - I really like the blue, chocolate and lime - and I think it would make a lovely granny blanket? I'll be sure to post my entry when I come up with something. What a fun idea!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

Daisies and mermaids

I'm almost finished with my first daisies on purple afghan for my Etsy customer, Angela. I really like how the purples make the daisy pop. Two more rows of squares and then onto the edging...

(I used Caron One Pound lilac, lavender blue, jonquil, white and off white)

If you are new to the site, you can find the daisy pattern here.

My daughter, Tillie, said she would like to be a "princess mermaid" for Halloween. I had never done the "crocodile" stitch before, but I knew that I had to use it for her mermaid tail. I've decided to make a straight skirt with some kind of pleated fin (so she can walk!) I'm still working on mastering this stitch - so I'll figure out the fin when I get there...

I found this pattern at Bernat.com. You must sign up to gain access, but they have some really lovely free patterns at their site. The Mermaid Tears Purse was the exact size I needed for Tillie's skirt, so I did not need to figure out how to alter the pattern before beginning. 

By the way, this is a fun stitch to do. The only difficult part is manipulating your work for the first "5dc down..." It's such a great scaly looking pattern though!

Nice change

I'm very happy to work up all of these daisy afghans (although I'm looking forward to getting back to some smaller, kiddie-sized blankets), but it's a nice change to come up with a simple granny pattern for an Etsy customer.

Her daughter requested green and purple, so I worked up alternating rows with multi squares in between. Here's how it came out.

(I used Caron One Pound pale green, lilac and white.)

She asked for a scalloped edge, which I think added a very pretty touch. I hope she likes it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A great book

Many people have asked about the pattern for the blanket below, and I just finished up a new one, so I thought I would dedicate a post to it. The pattern can be found in the book  "Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs". 

It's a great book full of fun and unique squares and motifs. They also use amazing colors in the photos. The background of my square is slightly different as I used a simple granny square (3dc ch2 3 dc (corner) then 3dc in each space around). That's the only difference. I highly recommend the book. 

I took a few photos of the my latest, finished blanket. I also took a photo of the back in case anyone was interested in seeing what that looks like.

Have a relaxing Labor Day!

New daisy blanket

I've been quite busy with a steady stream of custom blankets over at tillie tulip. One request came in for a daisy afghan using purples, so here is the latest in the daisy granny square saga...

I hope my customer likes it!

Very grey and rainy around here today, but the precipitation is a refreshing change. Have a wonderful week!

Monkey business (updated)

About a year ago, I created this monkey applique for a custom blanket. During some file clean up, I came across it, so I thought I would share for all of you monkey lovers. (I typed this up from scribbles, so I apologize if there are any errors. I'm still a-work-in-progress when it comes to writing patterns.)

I used worsted weight yarn and a size I hook.


Monkey face (see chart below):

ch 4 join to form ring
round 1: ch 2, 13 dc into ring, join with slip st
round 2: ch 2, 2 dc into each dc around join with slip st
round 3: ch 1, skip 1, 7 dc into next st, skip 1, slip st in next st, sc into next dc, skip 1 dc, 7 dc into next st, skip 1, slip st in next 2 sts; 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 2 trc in same st, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 2 trc in same st; 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, slip into beginning stitch 
round 4: 1 sc, 7 hdc, 1 sc, slip st, 1 sc, 7 hdc, 1 sc, slip st, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 2 hdc into next st, 8 hdc, 2 hdc into next st, 2 hdc, 1 sc, slip st to beg, leave long tail to attach

Dark brown head:

ch 4 join to form ring
round 1: ch 2, 13 dc in ring, join with slip st
round 2: ch 2, 2 dc into each dc around join with slip st
round 3: ch 2, *1 dc, 2 dc into next st * (repeat around from *)
round 4: ch 2, *2 dc, 2 dc into next st * (repeat around from *)

Ears (make 2):

ch 4 join to form ring
round 1: ch 2, 6 dc into ring (do not join) ch 1 turn, sc in each, leave long tail to attach

Eyes (make 2):

ch4 join to form ring
round 1: ch 1, 10 sc into ring, slip to join, leave long tail to attach

Sew eyes to face with tail. Embroider smile of your choice. Center (pin if you like) and sew face to head. Attach ears by sewing them with long tail to either side of head. (I also did another option with a pink ear. You can create this by using the ear pattern with a smaller hook)

Please do not sell, copy/paste or display this pattern as your own. You may sell appliques or items made from this pattern, but please link back to this page or make note that the pattern was designed by tillie tulip. Thank you!

Note: Reminder **If you would like to sell items you have made with my patterns, please do give credit to Tillie Tulip. Thank you.

UPDATE 1/2/16: After several years, I have finally gotten back to monkey and Round 3 issues. As I mentioned in my original post, this was from my chicken scratch notes. I apologize for any frustrations the added stitches may have caused, but it is free after all :) I wish I could devote more time to this blog, but family and work keep me busy!

I charted out the face below, removed the extra stitches and hopefully, it will be a better experience!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Brain overload

Some days I have to remind myself to stop and smell the...lavender?

My poor herbs did not do well this year, although I think it was a bad year all around with the hot weather we had. I love the smell of lavender. I have to find a good soap recipe to use some of these lovely, fragrant herbs in.

Maybe these purple flowers were subliminally part of my inspiration for the new scrappy blanket I started.

I like to save my end of skeins, in the same color family, and put them all together in a little patchwork afghan. Yet another one of my unfinished projects on the "to do" list.

I headed this entry "Brain overload", because I've been feeling a little all-over-the-place. I think it has a lot to do with the kids starting up school in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping that things will work into a nice groove when we all get settled, until then, my little lost projects will have to wait...

Hope everyone has a lovely (and peaceful) rest of their day!

Join-as-you-go (part II)

Below is the second half of my join-as-you-go method of connecting granny squares. (To view part I, click here).

I like using a slip stitch because I feel like it's a tighter firmer join. I also like doing the corners this way, because I personally like how the join looks - not messy, similar to the other "holes", and did I mention I feel it's a sturdy join? This is important when I think about longevity of the blanket.

Without further adieu...

Pink (shasta) daisy blanket is finished!

I completed Lynette's afghan this morning. She let me decide how to edge it, so I chose a hdc of white and a sc of the pink. Subtle. I like subtle, even though the blanket screams pink sunshine!

It's a true pleasure to create these blankets for such nice people. I can't say enough about all of the very nice customers I've been fortunate enough to meet.

On a side note, I've obviously been a little tied up with work, family and tillie tulip, but I will get part II of my join-as-you-go tutorial up as soon as I can! 

My join-as-you-go (part I)

Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments on my last post! I'm waiting to hear back about how Lynette would like the edge to be done. For most blankets, I've been using a round of sc and then a round of dc for a simple border or a scalloped edge for a little something sweet. As promised, below is how I put all of those squares together.

There are many different methods of joining granny squares - weaving, slip and single crochet, etc - but my favorite is to join as you go. Once again, my instructions may be slightly different than others you've seen, this is just how I do it and what works best for me!

Hopefully, I can relay this well, and it won't seem too confusing. Like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

If your squares are all different: arrange your completed squares how you would like them to appear, then create a pile for each row. I start from the top down, and stack from the righthand side on top. (Note: If all of your squares are the same: disregard these first two steps. Pile them up and work however many across.)

I hope that made sense. Keep connecting the squares in the row, and I'll post some more photos of how I work the connecting corners tomorrow! (To view part II, click here).

Note: If you would like to sell items you have made with my patterns, please do give credit to Tillie Tulip. Thank you.