Monday, May 30, 2011

I've been featured!

I was featured this week over at Sarahndipities!  What a HUGE treat to see my pinwheel gift bags being spotlighted! 

And check out Sarahndipities for more great ideas from blogland this week!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Birdie Ornament

Do you keep a folder for inspiration?  I have folders for cooking inspiration, decorating inspiration, crafting inspiration and crocheting inspiration.  There are so many amazing crocheters and crochet ideas that I never knew existed before I started reading blogs. 

Most weekends, I spend a few hours just surfing and looking for ideas.  About a month ago, I saw a little bird and immediately thought it'd make a great Christmas decoration.  I know it's only May, but I'm always thinking ahead.  I shared my inpiration photo a couple days ago, and here's my finished birdie.  I love how it turned out.

Lady Crochet, where I originally saw this birdie, didn't have a pattern that I could find, but that's ok.  I'm not much of a pattern person- I like to simply crochet and see what happens!  :)

Not only did I do that here, but... I wrote everything down.  Here's the pattern!

Birdie Pattern

Ch: chain
Sc: single crochet
Sl st: slip stitch
Hdc: half-double crochet

Body
Round 1 (in green): Magic Ring, sc and ch 1. In ring, crochet 5 more sc. Pull ring tight. Join with sl st to ch 1. You'll have a total of 6 sc.
Round 2 (green): 2 sc in each sc around. Join together. 12 sc. Fasten off.
Round 3 (white): Join white color. 2 sc in each sc around. Join together. 24 sc. Fasten off.
Round 4 (purple): Join purple color. 2 sc in each sc around. Join together. 48 sc.
Round 5 (purple): 1 sc in each sc around. Join together. 48 sc. Fasten off.
Round 6 (white): Join white color. hdc in each sc around. Join together. 48 hdc.
Round 7 (coral/terra-cotta): Join coral color. 1 sc in each sc around. Join together. 48 sc. Do not fasten off.

Iron to block shape. Fold in half so that the place where you have your last coral stitch is at the far end of the bird (the end away from where you'll place the beak).

Wings
Round 1 (in green): Magic Ring, sc and ch 1. In ring, crochet 5 more sc. Pull ring tight. Join with sl st to ch 1. You'll have a total of 6 sc.
Round 2 (green): 2 sc in first two sc. 2 dc in third sc. Ch 1, turn. Sc in each of the stitches you've just made (going back towards the beginning of this round). Fasten off.
Sew wings to the bird's body.

Beak
This could be played with much more.
Row 1: Ch 4, turned and sc in the second ch from hook and each ch across. Ch 1, turn
Row 2: sc in each sc across. Fasten off.
Place bird's beak where you'd like it and sew in.

Finishing
Return to the body and your last coral stitch. With the bird folded in half and the beak and wings sewed on, begin slip stitching only in the inside of the single crochets. This will add another row of color and close up the bird. I prefer the look of the edge with the sl st versus using a sc or whip stitch to join the body.

Attach eyes. I debated using a button or other fastener for eyes. In the end, I liked the look of the googly eye and used a hot glue gun to attach it.  I also made a 20 ch loop for the top.

Here are a few photos with the eyes I tried.  You can also see how I had started slip stitching the body closed at this point.


green fastener eye
green button eye

Happy Inspiration Crocheting!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

A little birdie told me

I found this birdie at Lady Crochet. It was meant as an Easter decoration, but I could see making one for a gift topper or Christmas ornament.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Ballet Flats


© 2009 Lisa van Klaveren

Looking around for crochet inspiration, I found these adorable ballet flats at Petite Purls. I love them!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

It's here!

A couple months back, I crocheted this sock Monkey for a very special nephew. When I finished it, my hubby came up with the idea that I should take some pictures of it to make a book from. Brilliant, right?  So the next day I took tons of posed photos of the sock monkey around the house. I took pics of him reading books, taking a nap, eating his lunch, etc... Anything I thought my nephew might also do.  I got a lot of great shots, but I ran out of time and had to give the monkey to my nephew before I could make the book.

Bummer!

Well, I eventually found the time to put together the book (I used Shutterfly). And I just got it back "published." Here is some of its wonderfulness!

The Cover

The first couple of pages

Happy Book Crafting!

Pinwheels

I saw this cute Pinwheel How To on Ohdeedoh and immediately thought it would be a great way to decorate a gift. And, unlike a flower, it's something that'll work to embellish a boy's or girl's gift.


Here's a closer view of one of my pinwheels. I found that the pins I bought wouldn't go through all the layers of my paper, so I used Aleene's tacky glue to secure the corners in place near the center, but not overlapping the center (as directed in the How To). After the glue was dry and my corners were secure, I worked my pin through the space left at the center. Lastly, I simply glued it to my gift bag and voila! easy embellishment.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sesame Street Inspiration


Photo by Girl in Air

Girl in the Air has a super cute Sesame Street hat pattern. I could see making these for a nephew or niece. Maybe next fall.

Blessings!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Bear-y Cute

I also made these recently. I found the pattern at Alli Crafts. Can you imagine how cute these would be on a new little one? The second hat with the ear flaps was at my hubby's suggestion. I love them both!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Inspiration... Carried Out


I saw this online at a Czech blog called Magic with Hook and Needle. Isn't it cool? I was inspired to use what I had on hand to try making my own (the yarn from the strawberry hats I made recently and some beads I had around). What do you think? I'm loving the result.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What's Next?

I've got it on my mind to make some wash cloths for a new baby. I want something made of cotton, brightly colored, and something that will coordinate with a hat I could make, too. (I really like giving gifts that are coordinated.)

I keep thinking through my options-maybe fruit or car shaped. Hmm... I can't wait to try making some!

Happy Creating!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Too Cute!

It was love at first sight! This pattern for a strawberry hat comes from Little Birdie Secrets. Isn't it adorable? I can't wait to give one of these to a friend who's having a baby soon!

I made a few changes along the way, but stuck with the sizing as given on the website. It worked wonderfully.

Here it is again, step by step.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Flower Garland

Looking around the web tonight, I spotted this flower garland tutorial at Sarahndipities. I'm noticing a lot of garlands these days. I got on board recently and made a birthday garland with scrap booking paper. What about this one? Wouldn't it be sweet for spring?

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Having Too Much Fun!

When I finished the blanket I was working on for the new baby, I couldn't stop. Do you ever get started crocheting, knitting, sewing, or crafting and just need to keep going?


I started this little elephant based on a pattern in the book I mentioned earlier. My only regret is that I didn't make the trunk upturned.

Blessed crafting!