His and Hers Scarves [crochet pattern]

As I've mentioned, part of my christmas gifting is going to include couplings of gifts, such as husband/wife and mother/daughter.  I've created this pattern for a couple of very special Iowa Hawkeye fans in my life, with differing styles.  The colors I've used are, of course, black and gold, but I've made variations.  I bought just standard worsted weight Red Heart yarn, in black and gold, and then I also purchased gold and black crochet thread.  For the woman, I paired the glittery gold thread with the black yarn, and for the man, I've paired the black thread with the gold yarn.  Note, if you choose to do something like this, make sure you've bought enough thread for the project.  At first, I only bought one of the gold thread, not realizing that it was only 100 yards (where my black thread is 300 yards) and then I had to go back and buy another ball when I was only halfway done with the scarf!  So, for your reference, it takes around 200 yards of each yarn and thread to complete one scarf.

Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!

His and Hers Lattice Scarves

Materials:
2 contrasting colors, 200 yds each
Size H hook

Special Stitch:
Front Post Treble Lattice stitch (FPTL):  YO twice, insert hook in front post of dc two rows below, YO, pull loop through.  YO, draw through two loops, YO, draw through two loops, YO, draw through two loops.

Pattern:

With A, Ch 21

R1: DC in fourth chain from hook.  DC across to end, ch 2 (does not count as hdc), turn. (19 dc)
R2: hdc in each st to end (19 hdc)
R3: join B, drop a, ch 3 (counts as DC), dc in next st, FPTL, dc, FPTL, dc, FPTL, dc in next 5 st, FPTL, dc, FPTL, dc, FPTL, dc in last two st. (19 st)
R4: ch 2 (does not count as hdc), hdc in each st to end. (19 st)
R5: ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next 6 sts, FPTL, dc, FPTL, dc, FPTL, dc in last 7 sts. (19 st)

Repeat from R2-R5 for the desired length of the scarf.  FO, weave in ends.

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Gift Bags, the solution to my wrapping conundrum [craft project]

While searching the internet last night for images and ideas for the gift tags that I want to make, I happened across a template to make your own little purse-type box out of cardstock.  Since I have more than enough 12x12 paper (enough to strangle a donkey...) I decided to try to make some of these for my mini pies.  It's the perfect solution, because I can put the pies in there straight out of the freezer and gift them without having to worry about wrapping at the last minute or trying to find boxes with lids that I can wrap.  They're not big enough for the presents to be included in them (in some cases anyways), but they'll be perfect for the pies.  The best part is how much fun they are to make and decorate.  Each thing I add to them just seems to make them prettier and more unique.

Find the directions here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/templates-f143/mini-note-purse-template-instructions-t436236.html








My favorite scarf, and a knit vs. crochet comparison. [knit pattern and crochet pattern]

So one of the people that I'm gifting for just told me that they wanted a scarf, and told me to do whatever i felt like.  I looked through a million patterns, but just couldn't find anything that I really liked.  So I thought about myself, what I liked, and the first thing I thought about was my favorite scarf of all time.  The only problem is, that it's a knit.  I haven't knitted in about 3 years because I love crochet so much!  So, I looked at the scarf and thought about how easy it would be to translate that into a crochet pattern.  First, let me list the two patterns, because they are so simple it's not even funny!

Ribbed Scarf [knit version]

Cast on 20.  *k2, p2* repeat until end of row. turn, and repeat.  take care to knit in the stitches that you purled and purl in the stitches that you knitted.  Make as long as you want.   (I make it suuuuper long because it's nice and cozy)

Ribbed Scarf [crochet version]

Chain 22.
R1: dc in 3rd chain from hook, dc across to end.  (20 st)
R2: ch 3 (does not count as dc) *FPDC in next two dc, BPDC in next two dc* repeat to end. (20 st)
Repeat row 2 until scarf is desired length, taking care to FPDC in st where you BPDC'd before and BPDC in the st where you FPDC'd before.

See how easy they are?  They both are just a simple repetition for the length of the scarf.  They work up very quickly too!  I love using the Lion Brand Homespun yarn for these, they make it warm and very fuzzy, especially after a quick run in the washing machine and dryer!

Now here's the thing.  Even though the patterns are both for a rib, they produce very different results.  Just take a look at my pictures below:

[insert images here]

Now, nevermind that the crochet version is very short.  I wasn't doing it to make anything, just merely show how the two look in comparison.  See how the qualities are very different?  Each is nice, in it's own way, but they have very different characteristics.  I think it's something that us crafters sometimes lose sight of~ I had gotten so into crochet, that I had forgotten about the lushness of this scarf, the way that the knit stretches and feels different.  It might make me break out my knitting needles more often!  :)

Bread and Butter Pot Holder [crochet pattern]

My mother made her request for christmas months ago, and I've just now gotten the inspiration to make something for her! I found a pattern for this, but it was not exactly what I wanted, so I modified it, of course!


Bread and Butter Potholder Pattern
Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!
Size "H" hook

Bread
Make 2
Row 1: With white ch 22, dc in 4th ch from hook and in each ch across, ch 3, turn – 21 dc
Row 2-8: Dc in next st and each st across, ch 3, turn – 21 dc
Row 9: 2 dc in same st, 2 dc in next st, tc 7 sts, dc, hdc, dc, tc 7 sts, 2 dc in next st, 3 dc in last st, finish off – 31 sts

Butter
Row 1: With yellow ch 8, sc in second ch from hook, sc in each ch across, ch 1, turn – 2 sc
Row 2-5: Sc in next st and each st across, ch 1, turn – 7 sc
Row 6: Sc in next st and each st across finish off – 7 sc

Finishing
Sew butter to right side of front at an angle.
With wrong sides tog and working through both loops of both pieces, join front and back, at a lower corner, by working sc in each st around increasing as necessary to keep piece lying flat; make loop by crocheting to where you want it, then ch 10 off the piece, join with sl st back in same sc you left off at, and continue on until end.  FO, weave in ends.

Arrow Hat [crochet pattern]

So for quite some time now, I've been trying to find a pattern that works well for a man and a woman, that has some cool design on it, but isn't just a beanie.  So I wrote my own.  I made this hat for my husband for christmas, here's hoping he likes it!


Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!

Arrow Hat Pattern

Size "H" Hook

Note:  This is an Advanced pattern.  Make sure that you pay close attention to where the stitches are supposed to go in order to get the arrow pattern to come out correctly.

Throughout this pattern, I use many commas.  The commas are perhaps the most important thing.  For example, if you see FPDC, FPDC, dc, that means in the next three stitches, you are going to FPDC in the first, FPDC in the second, and dc in the third.  However, if you see something like this: "FPDC and dc and FPDC all in same dc"  make sure that you are doing all three, the FPDC, dc, and FPDC all in the same stitch from the previous row.

Instructions:

Ch3
R1: 12 dc in 1st ch, join with slst in 1st dc
R2: ch2, *2 FPDC on next dc, 1 dc* repeat around. Join with slst in top of first FPDC (18)
R3: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, 2 dc in dc* repeat around. Join with slst in top of first FPDC (24)
R4: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, 2 dc in dc* repeat around. Join with slst in top of first FPDC (30)
R5: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, 2 dc in dc* repeat around. Join with slst in top of FPDC (36)
R6: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, FPDC on same st, dc, dc* repeat around. Join with slst in top of FPDC. (42)
R7: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, FPDC, 2dc in FPDC, FPDC, dc* repeat around. Join with slst on top of first FPDC (48)
R8: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, FPDC in FPDC,  2dc in dc, dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc* repeat around. Join with slst on top of first FPDC (54)
R9: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC,  dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc, 2 FPDC in next dc, dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (60)
R10: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in top of next FPDC, FPDC around FPDC, dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc* repeat around. Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R11: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc in dc, dc in FPDC, sk dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in top of same stitch, dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC on same stitch, sk dc, dc in FPDC, dc in dc* repeat around. Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R12:  ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc in dc, sk dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in dc, FPDC and dc and FPDC all in same dc, dc in dc, FPDC in FPDC, sk dc, dc in dc * repeat around. Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R13:  ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc in dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in dc, FPDC in FPDC, dc in dc * repeat around. Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R14-22: Repeat R11-R13
R23-R25: Repeat R13.  FO, weave in ends.

Move aside, here comes the crafting train!!!

So yesterday and the day before were both very productive days for my crafting ventures!  I'll be posting some new patterns after I get their pictures taken, but first, let me update on the crafting that has been completed!


Scarf (the knit I'm halfway done with)  Done!!!  yay!  putting those knitting needles back in the closet!Trivets (set of at least 3) Got 1 done!  :)Bath set (puff, mitt, washcloth)
pincushion
hat or scarf (for my bro-in-law... I can't decide what to make for him!)
a half of a scarf (I ran out of gold crochet thread!)  Got the thread so I can finish it!Aside from crochet projects, I also have some crafting that needs to be done:
A photo project
Tags for the gifts
the mini frozen pies
and of course, wrapping!  I figured out what do do about the wrapping, and I finished them yesterday!  look for a great tutorial to be coming hopefully later today!
I am feeling GREAT about my holiday crafting!  I'm going to work on the gift tags for a little bit this afternoon and hopefully finish another trivet or potholder.  And of course, look for some new patterns and tutorials to hopefully come today or tomorrow!

Inspiration!

So I'm almost done with all the large projects that I have to do, so I've been working on finishing and small projects today.  I made a buttered toast pot holder, which I'll post later, I finished a scarf, and I got the materials that I needed to finish another different scarf.  The buttered toast pot holder has inspired me, to create a set of pot holders that are all food related, but cute and kitchy.  Here's some ideas, produced from trolling the internet:























of course, the majority of these aren't potholders, but they're supercute ideas, right?  anybody else have any cute ideas?

my life in abbreviations

It seems, as I settle into the insanity that is holiday project-ing, my life is made up of abbreviations.  For example, I'm currently knitting a scarf.  K2, P2, K2, P2, etc.  Crocheting is no different.  sc, dc, hdc, tc, fpdc, bpdc, yo, etc.  patterns and abbreviations.  I wonder if i could catalog my day in abbreviations?  gu, mb, fb, gd, ml, wrr?  [translated: get up, make breakfast, feed baby, get dressed, make lunch, wash rinse repeat?]  but enough silliness for now.

Today, I did break out my knitting needles.  They've been in the back of my closet for, oh, about 3 years now?  Once I got back into crocheting, they took the backseat as I discovered all the magic that could be found in the variety of stitches.  So you could say I'm getting back to the basics, the small steps that got me hooked (hehe, like my pun?) on yarn.  I'm in fact, making my favorite scarf.  It's the one that I kept for myself, cherish and love.  And now, I'm making it as a christmas present.  Initially, I was just going to take the pattern (just a simple 2x2 rib) and make it into a crochet pattern (2fpdc, 2bpdc) and do it that way.  I started last night with a large hook and was happily crocheting along. I got about 10 rows into it, and realised that while it had the same sort of rib, it had a different look and feel.  It was stretchy, but not the same way.  it was soft, but had a hard quality to the rib that wasn't the same.  I got mad at it for not being the way i wanted and pulled it all out.  I stomped to my yarn closet and pulled out the knitting needles.  It took me a half an hour to cast it on and get the first row started~ I pulled the beginning apart about 20 times just trying to get it right without dropping stitches.  But once I got going, it started working up super fast.  I'm about a third of the way done with it and I've probably spent 2 hours total working on it.  Plus, using the yarn that I ripped out from the 10 rows of crochet, I got about twice the amount of length out of it.  The stretch is perfect and I'm beginning to bargain with myself about keeping this one.... for old times sake.  But I can't!  I have to give this one away, I picked this yarn specifically for this person!  I guess I'll just have to make another one for myself.  (after all the holiday crocheting is done)

I asked my husband, would you wear this scarf?  It's not very girly, is it?  (in my opinion, it looks like a mans scarf~ the simple rib and all)  he says yes, definitely.  (i think I'll call it the "stolen from a boy" scarf... lol)  He then proceeded to ask me if I'd started on his hat yet.  (sassy!  not once, in all the time we've been together has he asked me to crochet him something.  I've never made him anything, because it just seems like he isn't interested.  Then, about a week ago, he asks me if I could make him a hat and line it with fabric, to make it warmer.  I agreed~ because I thought it would be a fun challenge.)  I reported back that he had to wait until the holiday crafting was done.  he rolled his eyes.  (it will never be done!)

Yes, it will be done, because it has to be done.  If it doesn't get done, someone (including myself) will be very sad.

So here's the list of things in progress, that have to be done for holiday gifting.

Scarf (the knit I'm halfway done with)
Trivets (set of at least 3)
Bath set (puff, mitt, washcloth)
pincushion
hat or scarf (for my bro-in-law... I can't decide what to make for him!)
a half of a scarf (I ran out of gold crochet thread!)

Aside from crochet projects, I also have some crafting that needs to be done:
A photo project
Tags for the gifts
the mini frozen pies
and of course, wrapping!  (my favorite part!!!!  I love finding really pretty, tasteful wrap (not the cheesy stuff) and decorating it up with ribbons, tags, and other cute holiday goodness!  Most of the time, believe it or not, I order my wrap from one of the kids in the neighborhood for their school fundraisers.  (this year, I've chosen Landon~ the little 5 year old that just started kindergarten and whom my 3.5 year old is in love with)  I love the wraps I got from him!)  I need to get creative though, since I'm giving frozen pies, I either have to just give them out singly, or find boxes that have lids, that i can wrap, open back up and stick in the pie...  hmmm.

I have gotten a lot done, though.  I finished the d20, 1.5 scarves, and 7 hats.

off to crafting now!!! 

Super Spiral Hat: Hat #1 of the 30 day Hat Challenge

Hat #1 of the 30 Day Hat Challenge

Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!
 
Super Spiral hat


Hook: "I"
Red Heart Worsted Weight Yarn

Pattern:
Ch3
R1: 11 dc in first ch, sl st in first st

R2:  ch3, *FPDC, 2dc in next st* repeat around, sl st in top of ch3

R3:  ch3, *dc in top of FPDC, FPDC on FPDC, sk next dc, 2 dc in next dc* repeat around, finishing with a dc in same st as ch3, sl st in ch 3

R4: ch3,2dc in next st *dc in top of FPDC, FPDC on FPDC, sk next dc, dc, 2dc in next dc* repeat around, sl st in top of ch 3

R5: sl st in next dc, ch 3, dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, *sk next dc, dc in next 2 dc, 2dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC* repeat around,  sl st in top of ch3

R6: sl st in next dc, ch3, dc in next 2 dc, 2 dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, *sk next dc, dc in next 3 dc, 2 dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC* repeat around, sl st in top of ch3

R7: sl st in next dc, ch3, dc in next 3 dc, 2dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, *sk next dc, dc in next 4 dc, 2 dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC* repeat around, sl st in top of ch3

R8: sl st in next dc, ch3, dc in next 4 dc, 2dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, *sk next dc, dc in next 5 dc, 2dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC* repeat around, sl st in top of ch3

R9: sl st in next dc, ch3, dc in next 5 dc, 2 dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, *sk next dc, dc in next 6 dc, 2 dc in next dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC* repeat around, sl st in top of ch3

R10: sl st in next dc, ch 3, dc in next 6dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, sk next dc, *dc in next 7 dc, dc in top of FPDC, FPDC in FPDC, sk next dc* repeat around, sl st in top of ch3.

R11-R18: repeat R10

FO

Twilight Inspiration: Bella's Hat [crochet pattern]

So... I'm a huge Twi-hard... in love with all things Twilight.  Celebrating the upcoming release of Eclipse to DVD, I decided to work on something from the movie.  I would love to convert her mittens to a crochet pattern, but I just don't have that kind of focus right now.  Thus, I made her hat.  I looked at every pattern out there, and they all do it a little differently.  I decided to try and create a pattern based off of the pictures from the movie.  I think I got pretty close, even though the color isn't quite right!



Pattern

Materials:
about a half a skein of red heart yarn
size "H" hook

Pattern:

Ch3
R1: 12 dc in 1st ch, join with slst in 1st dc
R2: ch2, *2 FPDC on next dc, 1 dc* repeat around.  Join with slst in top of first FPDC (18)
R3: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, 2 dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst in top of first FPDC (24)
R4: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, 2 dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst in top of first FPDC (30)
R5: ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, 2 dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst in top of FPDC (36)
R6: (for this round, work all regular dc stitches in back loop only) ch2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, dc, 2dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst in top of FPDC. (42)
R7: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (48)
R8: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (54)
R9: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (60)
R10: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2dc in dc* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R11: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc 9 times* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R12: (for this round, work all regular dc stitches in back loop only)   ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc 9 times* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R13-17: ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc 9 times* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC (66)
R18: (for this round, work all regular dc stitches in back loop only)  ch 2, *FPDC, FPDC, dc 9 times* repeat around.  Join with slst on top of first FPDC.  FO, weave in ends.



Another Gift Down! Children's Version of the Margaret Hat. [crochet pattern]

So a couple of my christmas presents this year are geared toward couplings: Mother/Daughter, Husband/Wife, and it's been really fun modifying and creating new patterns that complement eachother!  For this specific pairing, I took a pattern that I had found online and made it for the mother, and then I modified it to make a pattern that would fit a child.  You can find the mother's pattern at the Lion Brand website by following this link: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80752AD.html?noImages=.  Below, find the Children's pattern!

Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!

 Children's Version of the Margaret Hat



Ch 11.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across – 10 sts.
Row 2: Ch 2, turn, hdc in each of first 5 sts, sc in each of next 4 sts, sl st in last st.
Row 3: Ch 1, turn, sl st in first st, sc in next 4 sts, hdc in next 5 sts.
Row 4: Ch 2, turn, hdc in first 5 sts, sc in next 4 sts, sl st in last st.
Rows 5–33: Rep Rows 3 and 4.
Fasten off. Seam last row to first, making a tube

Shape Crown
With RS facing, join yarn with sl st on one open end of tube.
Rnd 1: Ch 1, working in ends of rows, work 18 sc evenly spaced around edge; join with sl st in first sc.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in first sc, *ch 1, sk next sc, sc in next sc; rep from * around, ch 1, sk last sc; join with sl st in first sc.
Rnd 3: Ch 1, sc in each sc around, sk all ch-1 spaces; join with sl st in first sc – 9 sts.
Rnd 4: Ch 1, *sc in first sc, sk next sc, *rep around- 4 sts.
Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Weave tail through sts of last rnd, gather tightly together and fasten off.

Shape Brim
With RS facing, join yarn with sl st anywhere along remaining edge of Hat.
Rnd 1: Ch 1, working in ends of rows, work 39 sc evenly spaced around edge, join with sl st in first sc.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, *sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc; rep from * around; join with sl st in first sc.
Rnd 3: Ch 3, dc in each sc around; join with sl st in top of beg ch.
Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in each tr around; join with sl st in first sc.
Rnds 5–8: Rep Rnds 3 and 4.
Fasten off.

Tie
Make a chain about 24 in. long. Fasten off. Weave chain through sts of Rnd 3 of brim. Tie ends of chain into a bow. Weave in ends.

For extra fun, you can make additional chains in different colors, as I did, for interchangeability!

The Christmas Tree...

...went up today!!! I just had to share my joy in the matter.  Lily had lots of fun putting the ornaments on, but she was absolutely no help putting it together or getting the lights on... perhaps next year, I'll just do that part when she's in bed and we can do the fun ornaments part in the morning...

Readying for holiday crafts! [recipe]

So the other day, Lily and I made chicken pot pies in order to test a recipe for our christmas gifting.  The recipe was one we tweaked to make a little easier and I took a shortcut on the crust in order to not have to take so much time making them for the trial.  I almost like the crust enough to use it for the real gifts!  It was Jiffy Pie Crust in a box, and it was flaky and delicious!  For 50 cents a box, you really can't go wrong!
The recipe came out pretty good, though I know for the real ones, we need to use more cream of chicken soup.  The crust more or less sucked up all of the extra juice and there wasn't really any gravy running in the middle, and if you ask me, that's the best part!

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe:

Ingredients:
Jiffy pie crust box: makes two small pot pies
frozen mixed vegetables
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
milk, for consistency
chicken, cubed
4 B-sized golden potatoes, cubed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Prepare crust.  Divide.  Line greased ramikens with  half of pie crust- just press it in using your fingers for the insides.  Roll out remaining crust and use ramikens as a guide to cut a circle.  Set aside for topping.
Cook cubed chicken in a small amount of olive oil.  When cooked, add cream of chicken soup, milk, and vegetables.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Spoon into ramikens, top with circle of crust.  Seal crust around edges and cut a few holes to vent.  Bake per crust package directions or until crust is golden brown.

Waterless Snow Globe [craft project]

Tonight, we engaged in family craft night, with each member of the family making a waterless snowglobe.  If you remember, I posted a picture of these that I had found in a craft flyer from Michaels.  I ran with the idea the other day when we shopped, and we got all sorts of cute christmas supplies to make these with!



Supplies:
Pint Sized Ball Canning Jars
1 pkg white christmas garland
Miniature Christmas tree Ornaments
Miscellaneous Christmas Craft accessories (ie. buttons, charms, pinecones, etc)
Hot Glue
Christmas Colored fabric square about an inch and a half larger than jar cap on each side
Ribbon

Assembly:

Cut a small portion of garland to place at bottom of jar, drizzle hot glue in first and then press garland in.
Remove any hangers from ornament, put glue on bottom and position in jar. 
Glue in any accessories that you may desire.
Put on cap, then fabric square, then metal ring.
Glue section of ribbon to outside of metal ring, embellish with button if desired.
You may also additionally place a circular tag on the top of the jar, with a To: / From: label on it.



Puff Hat Set!

I finished one of the adorable mother/daughter sets that I've been working on~ and they're just as cute as I could have hoped.  For this set, I essentially made the Puff Hat, but added a pom-pom at the top!  How adorable!!!!


I loooove using ombre yarns for this hat~ it gives it such a unique look!  This ombre, however, which is made by Red Heart, has longer sections of color than most.  This wouldn't be a bad thing if I were just using sc or dc stitches, because then the color would probably cover one round of the hat, however when using the puff stitch, it tends to make for weird clumpy sections of color.  Oh well, I think they're adorable anyway!!!

ETA: to make the childrens size, just skip one row of increases and continue on with the original pattern, and then leave out the last 1-2 rows of puffs to make it shorter.  :D

Holiday crafts: part 1

Today, lily and I went out bargain shopping for our holiday crafts! Sorry to all of my family who reads this, because you might be getting one of these items, and I'm totally gonna take the fun out of it for you! At least you won't know which one you might be getting!!! We now have all of the supplies, it's just going to be about getting it all ready now!

I still have a ton of crochet presents left, though I'm getting them all marked off my list slowly! At least now I think I have all of the supplies that we will need and it's just about getting the work done!

Hopefully tomorrow we can complete at least one task and get the ball rolling!!! :)

Busy Week!

The past week has been ridiculously busy!  We've gone to my husband's hometown to show off the new baby, and this whole week has been spent running to dr. appointments and to see family.  I've been working on creating some hat sets for my family~ almost have one done and have the pattern picked for the second set.  Tomorrow, I need to check the status of the freezer in the garage~ if it's clean, lily and I will be making these: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/single-serving-pie-in-jar.html
They're little mini pies in a jar!  I think Lily will have fun helping me make these for our family!  Tomorrow, we're doing the sweet pies~ I picked cherry, blueberry and apple, and am hoping to make a stop at walmart tomorrow~ I need some random things like diapers and printer ink... and hopefully they'll have a little fabric pack that will work for decorating the jars.  If all goes well, we'll be making the savory ones next week or the week after.  I'll post pictures of our adventures!

I still have about 10 christmas presents to make~ crochet-wise, and then some other random handmade gifts that I would like to attempt.  The theme I've set this year for my gifts is "A Touch of Warmth"~ hence the mini pies, hats, scarves, slippers and gloves. 

More to come tomorrow!

d20 fun-ness! [crochet pattern]

The d-20 is done!  and, if you ask me, it looks awesome!!!!  After figuring out the equilateral triangle, it worked up rather quickly!  Find my own special pattern below!!

Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!


d-20 Pattern

Materials:
two colors of yarn of your choice
size G hook
tapestry needle for finishing off
stuffing

Tip: leave long strings at the ends for ease in assembling and weaving the ends in.

Equilateral Triangle (make 20)

*edited to add* for this pattern, it is always assumed that you will chain 1 and turn at the end of each row.  I have updated the initial chain to include this.  Thanks to whoever it was who left me that note informing me of the error!!!*

Chain 21
R1: start with sc in 2nd ch, sc in each ch (20 sc)
R2: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 16, dec in last 2 sc (18sc)
R3: sc across (18sc)
R4: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 14, dec in last 2 sc (16sc)
R5: sc across (16sc)
R6: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 12, dec in last 2 sc (14sc)
R7: sc across (14sc)
R8: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 10, dec in last 2 sc (12sc)
R9: sc across (12sc)
R10: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 8, dec in last 2 sc (10sc)
R11: sc across (10sc)
R12: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 6, dec in last 2 sc (8sc)
R13: sc across (8sc)
R14: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 4, dec in last 2 sc (6sc)
R15: sc across (6sc)
R16: dec in first 2 sc, sc in next 2, dec in last 2 sc (4 sc)
R17: sc across (4sc)
R18: dec in first 2 sc, dec in last 2 sc (2sc)
R19: dec in remaining 2 sc, FO.

take 5 triangles, connect at top two sides of triangle to form a 5 sided pyramid.  make four of these, then connect, leaving one side open for stuffing.  Fill to your decided firmness, sew last edge, fo.

Holiday Projects!

Today, Lily and I had some quality mother-daughter art project time!  We made toilet paper turkeys~ I cut out all the shapes from construction paper and she glued the shapes on, and stuck the feathers into the hot glue "pockets" on the back that I made for the feathers.  She even drew the faces for the turkeys.  Adorable!



Ooooh Inspiration!

So Lily and I went to Michaels the other day, to pick up a few stickers for our scrapbook and for me to pick up a few skeins of yarn for more Christmas gifts.  In my bag when I got home, I found some awesome inspiration!    These are all handmade Christmas crafts and I think Lily and I may have to adapt some for our own fun!!  I'll post pictures and instructions if we end up crafting any of these this holiday season!


waterless snowglobe


birdhouse candle holders


decorated ornaments!

Sounds like so much fun!!!

D20 progress!

Well I've finally done it! I figured out how to crochet the equilateral triangle! It took many tries, pulling out swatch after swatch, but I got a pattern all worked out now! The best part is that each triangle only takes about 15 minutes to work up. I've already got 3 done, so it will probably take me only 4.5 hours of work to finiship all the sides and then stitch them together. Hopefully it'll be complete or pretty close by tomorrow! Then Ill be free to tackle my next new pattern~ the oval trivet. My mother requested a large oval trivet for casserole dishes and I haven't been able to find a pattern, so i'm gonna make one myself!!

More Scrapbooking!

Lily and I have finished another page!
I think I have it all figured out how to not lose her interest through the whole process.  I have her pick out our paper and our scraps, the pictures and the stickers, and then I give her another page with throw-away pictures to use.  Then she happily glues on her page while I assemble the final page for the book.  Here's pictures of the finished book page, and then the page that lily did (that she wants to keep in her room... her words exactly)


New Hooks and Camera Woes

Well, yesterday I picked up the largest hook I could find to add to my collection.  It's a size Q.  It's huge.  When I went, I was actually looking for an S hook, which is even bigger!  I bought it for a hat pattern I found to make for my daughters~ Lily asked for me to make them matching winter hats.  I figured, cool... huge hook, easier to work with.  Now don't get me wrong, it is easier.  The pattern, however, now that I've been working on it, makes no sense whatsoever.  I personally don't like to work hats that aren't made in the round.  I think the pattern was having me work from the bottom up, but it never had me connect anything, and so I got scared about the size of it and ripped it all out.  Four rows of crochet down the tube.  I'm just going to try and write my own pattern for this type of hat, just done in the round instead.  I think I can probably swing it on my own, just by following the natural increase pattern.  We'll find out!

On sad news, my camera is not working right.  Every time I try to take a picture, it acts like it's working, but when I go to view the images it says that there's a card error and it's write protected.  I've tried formatting the cards, I've tried different cards, I've also downloaded the master program again and checked the firmware on the camera, but thus far, no success.  This is a major bummer.  If I can't get it working, I'll be camera-less until our tax returns come in, because I can't afford to replace the dslr until then! I'm off now to go google and see if I can find a fix for my woes!

Today, I'm working on uploading some old snapshots to my server so that I can have them printed for our scrapbook projects.  I've dug out all my old discs and am currently uploading photos from the zoo trip we made in the summer LAST YEAR.  I've been really bad about printing pictures for the past year!!  :(  Well, at least I have new inspiration to edit and print them!  (thank goodness for 19 cent prints!)  I'm also going to see if Lily wants to work on a new page for our book today.  I may need another day or two to spike her interest up again....  It might also be prudent of me to pick up the house a little, since I pretty much ignored it yesterday in favor of finishing up some crafts!

Scrapbooking with Lily

So today, Lily (my 3.5 year old) and I went to Michaels to pick up a few sticker sets for our upcoming and ongoing project.  I've found that she handles having the new baby in her life better if she gets to do something that engages her and makes her feel special.  Thus, I have printed a bunch of pictures of fun stuff we've done, and we're going to work together to make it into a Family Fun scrapbook.  I have more pictures to print, but I've got us about 40 pictures to start and sort through.

Today, after we got back, we did our first page.  I wanted to see how well she could focus on it and how long I could hold her interest while doing it.  It took us about an hour (and wouldn't have taken us that long if I had known where everything was.  About 20 minutes of that was spent digging through my boxes...).  Her attention waned at the very end, but throughout the rest of it, she was awesome.  She spread all the glue, put on the stickers and helped me pick out all the paper for the page.

And here it is!!!

[sorry the picture quality isn't that great, I had to take it with my phone since my camera is currently on the fritz!]

I think we'll try to do a page a day or every other day, depending on our schedule and her interest.  If we can keep it up, and it keeps her interest, we could have a super fun scrapbook really soon!!

The Lattice Hat [crochet pattern]

I'm on fire this week with the finishing of crochet projects.  Another one in the bag... the Lattice Hat. 

Yet another pattern that I've adjusted for myself, for ease of reading as well as understanding.  The website that it came from has wonderful step by step photo instructions for how to do the LTC, so all you'll find here are the written instructions.  Visit the link if you need more of a visual instruction.

Lattice Hat























Materials:
H hook for body
G hook for ribbing

Abbreviations:
SC- single crochet
DC- double crochet
FPDC- Front post double crochet
BPDC- Back post double crochet
LTC- Lattice treble cluster

Special Stitch:

Lattice Treble Cluster:
Instructions:
YO 2 times. Insert hook under first LTC from round before last, YO, pull loop up. (5 loops on hook)
YO, pull through first two loops on hook.  YO, pull through next 2 loops on hook. (2 loops remain on hook)
YO 2 times.  Insert hook under next LTC from round before last, YO, pull loop up. (5 loops on hook)
YO, pull through first two loops on hook.  YO, pull through next 2 loops on hook. (3 loops on hook)
YO, pull through all three loops.  LTC is complete.

Additional Notes:
Ch 2 at the beginning of each dc row, counts as first dc. 
For rows that begin with fpdc:  ch 2, fpdc down into starting stitch.  Ignore ch 2 henceforth.  Sl st into the first actual stitch at the end of every row.

Pattern:
Ch 4, join
R1:  9 dc in ring.
R2: 2 fpdc in each dc (18 fpdc)
R3: * fpdc in fpdc, dc in space between fpdc, fpdc in next 2 fpdc, dc in space between fpdc, fpdc in next fpdc* repeat around.  (18 fpdc, 9 dc)
R4: *fpdc in fpdc, dc in dc, fpdc in fpdc, dc in space between fpdc* repeat around (18 fpdc, 18 dc)
R5: *fpdc in fpdc, dc inc in dc, fpdc in fpdc, dc in dc* repeat around (18 fpdc, 27 dc)
R6: *Fpdc in fpdc, dc in dc, dc in dc, fpdc in fpdc, dc inc in dc* repeat around. (18 fpdc, 36 dc)
R7: *Fpdc in fpdc, dc in dc, dc inc in dc* repeat around. (18 fpdc, 54 dc)
R8: dc around. (72 dc)
R9: ch 1, sc in same st, sc, LTC.(for first repetition use fpdc, for all others, follow special stitch instructions)  *sk 1 dc, sc next 3 dc, LTC* repeat 17 times, sk 1 dc, sc next dc, slst in first sc (18 LTC, 54 sc)
R10: Dc around (72 dc)
R11: ch 1, LTC, *
sc in next 3 dc, LTC, sk 1 dc* repeat 17 times, sc next 3 dc, slst to first LTC.  (18 LTC, 54 sc)
R12-21: Repeat Rows 8-11, ending with row 9.
 
Switch to G hook
R22: *fpdc down into sc, bpdc, fpdc, bpdc* repeat around (36 fpdc, 36 bpdc)  FPDC should fall on the peak of the LTC and the middle of the LTC.
R23-24: fpdc in fpdc, bpdc in bpdc around. (36 fpdc, 36 bpdc)
Fasten off and weave in ends.

Craft Planning!

I am a multi-crafter.  I'll admit it.  I always have a minimum of two projects that I'm working on, usually somewhere more along the lines of five projects.  What I'm doing now is no exception. 

I am currently working on:

  • an adaptation of a wonderfully fun afghan~ using every bright color that I have in my stash.  I'll post pictures when I'm further along, and you can find the pattern here: http://www.tangledness.com/html/fall_2010/groovyghan.html  
  • a fun hat, which I haven't decided if I'm keeping for myself or gifting yet....  Pattern here:  http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=11 
  • creating a pattern for a d20 amigurami for my gaming geek friends child for christmas~ too fun!
  • scrapbooking with my daughter- we just got some pictures and we work everyday on something.  yesterday we picked out some stickers and tomorrow we are going to look at books, paper and more stickers.  Soon, we'll be ready to start crafting some pages!
  • a basketweave afghan, done in squares.  I've made my own pattern for this and I've been working on it for a long time.  Eventually I'll finish it.  I'm about 1/4 of the way done.  At least winter is coming and it will seem easier to work on an afghan when you can have its warmth spread over you!
  • another afghan, also done in squares.  Same deal, except its this lovely pattern from Bernat: http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4512              Geometric squares with stripe and diamond accents. Works up quick in your favorite Bernat chunky-weight yarn.
I have plans for many more projects too!  I have christmas presents to craft, which will include slippers, scarves, hats, trivets, jars of cookie mix, and then our annual paper craft which we make and give to each one of the relatives.  Last year we made handprint turkeys for thanksgiving and three dimensional snowmen for christmast.  This year, I think we're gonna make toilet paper roll turkeys and paper snowmen.  All I can say is it's a good thing I'm on maternity leave until after the holidays!

Tomorrow, I have solid plans to have finished the model for the triangles that will make up the d20, and finish the lattice hat.  I only have about 8 more rows, and it works up pretty quickly.  I'll post pictures when I'm done!!

Easy Curly Scarf [crochet pattern]

Curly Scarf

This is one of my favorite scarves in the world to make!  It works up so fast and it's fun to see it curl while you work!







Copyright 2010-2012 LiLu Studios: This Crafting Life, by Lori Steffens. {http://www.thiscraftinglife.com/} Make it, Wear it, Love it, but above all, Share it, don't Sell it!

Special Notes: When you start this scarf, just make a chain that is however long that you would like the scarf to be.  You can use a variety of needle sizes, for this one, I used an "I", for the next two, I've used different sizes.... The black on is a "N" and the purple is a "P"
Pattern:
ch however many you like for the length
sk 1st ch, sc in ea ch after, ch 2, turn
sk 1st sc, 2dc in ea sc to end, ch 2, turn
sk 1st sc, 2dc in ea dc to end, tie off.