Winter Enchantment

One of the best things about having daughters, for me, is that I get to relive and enjoy all the wonders of fairies, mermaids, princesses, faraway castles and all things magical.  These were some of my most favorite things as a child.  Being able to share that with my daughters is most enjoyable!  We love snuggling on the couch and watching the latest Tinkerbell movie or some magical movie from my own childhood.  Last year in late spring while browsing Etsy and Ravelry, I happened upon the most beautiful Unicorn hat.  I knew that I just HAD to recreate this for my oldest daughter.  Being too late for winter I promised that I would make it for her to wear this winter.  Quickly I made my way to Michael's to purchase the yarn I would need.
Oh Michael's, I could just spend the whole day there.  Don't even get me started on my first trip to Hobby Lobby, my family is lucky that I ever found the exit!  (cannot wait to go back!)
Now, this wonderful hat was a purchased pattern.  Luckily for me I have been crocheting for about 11 years now and knew that I could just figure it out and so I did.  I did not take notes with this hat because I don't know about copy right laws and I really don't need the trouble of some wonderful designer coming down on me!  I will post a link for the pattern found on Etsy for those of you who would like to give it a go.  If you have some experience with crochet you might just wing it yourself by looking at the pictures like I did. 

As you can see there was a lot of work going into this one!  My daughter never takes this hat off.  She wears it to school and then keeps wearing it, me and hubby have to take it from her at bedtime.  
I used Red Heart Super Saver for the basic ear flap hat, ears and braids.  I used Vanna's Glamor in Silver for the magical horn and Fun Fur for the crazy mane.  The Fun Fur I purchased was a medley of pink and light and dark purple.  I decided to just use the pink as that is my daughter's favorite color.   We get so many compliments on this hat and I have told so many people that I will not recreate this beauty!  Well if I ever did it would be for a good amount of cash!  Fun Fur is a nightmare!!  I just used surface chain stitches to attach the mane, its on there pretty good!
You can find the pattern for purchase here Glimmer Unicorn.  I applaud the designer for this wonderful hat and hope that you will all give it a try.  The end result and the happy face on my daughter made all of the effort completely worth it. 
Thanks for looking and Happy Hooking!

Silly Snowman

Oh my poor blog has been neglected for awhile now...life has been super busy and I'm sure you can all relate!  Lately I have finally been able to breathe and slow down a little.  With some recent job changes I have once again become a stay at home mom while DH is back to a full time job. And next fall when my youngest starts full time kindergarten I will be out hitting the pavement again but for now I will enjoy my time at home and hopefully can start designing some more original patterns.  During the holidays I was busy pimping out my crochet skills for some extra cash and loved every minute of it :)  I was happily surprised to see so much interest in everything handmade.  In between orders I made a few new hats for my girls so over the next few days I will keep updating my page with a few projects recently finished.   This is one of my favorites! 

This Silly Snowman was made for my youngest daughter.  We get so many great comments when we are out and about and she looks so cute in it.  I absolutely LOVE the little top hat.  The pattern is written wonderfully and it's free!  The only thing I did differently with this pattern is leave out the pompoms on the end of the ties.  Why?  Because for some reason I just cannot make pompoms!!  I will be the sucker that has to go out and buy the pompom maker and I have no problem with that!  Another simple thing that I have never been able to master is the french knot. I really don't understand how this has eluded me for years but I'm not bitter :) Anyhoo, getting back on topic...
I really enjoyed this pattern and have found a new blog that I love.  This was the first time I used Loops and Threads: Charisma from Michael's.  It's a bulky weight yarn and is super soft reminding me of cotton balls.  I look forward to using this yarn again in the near future. 
You can find the free pattern here Repeat Crafter Me. 
Thanks for looking and Happy Hooking!

Fall is Coming...

               Well happy summer everyone!   I apologize for my neglect during these past few months, but my goodness I am having such a wonderful time :)   Hubby and the girls and I have had a great summer this year, lots of fun and excitement.  I have been crocheting and knooking, but haven't had much computer time to share any posts.  I have completed a very cute hedgehog pillow, progressed quite nicely on an afghan and even started knooking a pair of socks!  Again I could go on and on about how great the knook is.  I went on to Etsy and bought some smaller knooks so that I could make socks and mittens with real intricate knitting patterns!  This has brought much joy to my life lol.
                At the beginning of summer on a lazy hot and humid day, I sat with a steaming hot and delicious cup of black coffee ( I prefer Folgers), waking up and surfing Ravelry <3.  My oldest daughter was sitting with me and she seen a very cute and simple creation, an apple cozy.  She just fell in love with it.  She almost immediately began insisting that I absolutely must make this for her teachers.  With summer vacation already started, it was too late to give this as an end of school year gift, so I suggested giving them to the teachers as a Welcome Back from summer gift.  She really liked that idea, and I like the twist on the classic leaving an apple on the teacher's desk.
                This is a free pattern that I found online.  I tried a few different ones, but this one looked the best when finished.  There is an optional leaf attachment in the pattern, but I decided not to use it this time, I don't have the right color green on hand.  But it is really cute.

               I found the free pattern here, Crafty-Anna.  This quick little project only took me a couple of hours to finish.  I plan on making at least 6 more.  I highly recommend this one.   I used Bernat Handicrafter yarn and an H hook.  It fits an average size apple.  The pattern is easily adaptable to make a smaller or larger cozy. 
Thanks for looking and Happy Hooking!

Knook Crazy

Happy Spring to everyone!  It has been absolutely beautiful lately, I can't get enough of the sunshine and birds chirping :o)  I hope you all have been receiving great weather also.  
I have been an avid crocheter for almost 11 years now.  I love every loopy stitch, and I love to challenge myself with new techniques.  I have not been so successful in my attempt at knitting however.  Those long needles are too awkward and my stitches always fall off the points, and the stitches seem to be kind of backwards compared to good ol'crochet.  Until now!!  I have seen this wonderful product advertised for months, and finally found it at my local Walmart.  The Knook!

I've had it for about a month now, and haven't been able to put it down.  I'm actually truly knitting!  Not in the traditional way, but in a way that works for me.  I cannot even describe in words how happy this makes me!  Leisure Arts also has lots of instructional videos for left and right handers to get you started.   Including cables, knooking in the round, increasing and decreasing, as well as basic garter, stockinette and knit stitches. Knook Videos They offer a few basic projects in the included booklet, but I wasn't satisfied with something so basic of course.  I went right for it and found a nice easy knit pattern on Ravelry for a cute little fuzzy lamb.  Fuzzy Mitten Lamb   I finished it in a few days, and have been knooking a sweet little sweater to go with it. Sally's Sweater.   The lamb took more concentration being my first official project.  The sweater however is absolutely hypnotic, just stockinette stitch.  So relaxing!  There is an advanced beginner kit also available that includes different size knooks and longer knook cords for bigger projects.  I might just try my hand at making my own knook hook!  And I can't wait to try knooking some socks :o)  I could honestly talk about knooking all day long lol.  You must try this product, you will not be disappointed!

Pretty Petal Pixie Hat

Hello out there fellow hookers!  Today I am posting a new hat that I made for my youngest daughter.  I am quite pleased with this one I must say.   These girls of mine have so many hats, it's quite ridiculous really!   But they are so quick to whip up and there are sooooo many possibilities, how can I resist?  With that in mind, I am going to start making hats whenever I possibly can and donate them to charity and to hospitals.
But anyhoo...I have tackled and succeeded in conquering the beautiful 'crocodile stitch'!!!   This one technique has been showing up on Ravelry for quite sometime, with a price unfortunately.  But thanks to the power of Youtube and a wonderful free pattern found deep in the corners of the internet it has been done!!  Now for me, the written pattern I found was a little confusing, but as soon as I watched the youtube video it all became so clear, and soooo easy!! 
I started fiddling with the stitch and made a beautiful neck warmer for myself.  It is all black to match my coat, so I didn't take a photo because you can't see the stitch definition.  So after that I decided to figure out how to make a hat. 

I started from the bottom, making my base chain long enough to fit around my sweet girl's head and starting working upward.  Now here is my trick!!  Instead of decreasing in the round as I neared the crown, I simply made an extra row and then weaved (wove?) my yarn back and forth to cinch the top closed like you would a hooded sweatshirt.  And voila!!  I used Bernat Satin yarn for the whole project.  I improvised the leaves (there are 3) and the cute little curly vine on top.  
My daughter loves this hat!  She thinks it looks like something that Tinkerbell or one of her friends might wear :o) 
Here are the helpful links that I used. Crocodile Stitch video tutorial , please keep in mind this video shows you how to start a neckwarmer.  With some adjustments you can make whatever you like!  But this video is super awesome at showing you this technique so check it out!
And this link, Crocodile Stitch Hat  is for an adult size hat.  I just made my adjustments to make it a lot smaller for my 3 year old. 
I had so much fun with this project, I hope you all give it a go.  The end result is worth any headache it may cause you!  If you have any questions I am always happy to help, just send me an email!   A big thank you to http://cats-rockin-crochet.blogspot.com for posting the free pattern. 
Thanks for looking and happy hooking!!