Homeschooling the Teen Years - Potter-Worthy Crochet Patterns

A(age 18) had to pick up a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for one of her dual-enrollment classes starting later this semester.  I thought just in case she's secretly enrolled at Hogwarts (instead of in the lit. and film class she's claiming the book is for) I'd better plan birthday presents for her accordingly.

It was, as usual, a last minute decision, but I managed a house scarf and matching keychain owl, thanks to a couple of very simple (and free) crochet patterns from LiveAbout and Ravelry.

I absolutely love finding free crochet and knitting patterns online to go along with whatever theme we happen to be on about.  It 's just one more of those little things that's made it easy to add last minute touches of whimsey and fun to our birthdays, holidays, and homeschooling studies over the years.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Kung Fu Panda 3 - Cookies and Crochet

We joined friends today, going to see Kung Fu Panda 3, as a sort of impromptu birthday party for their daughter.  It was last minute, but there was just enough warning for me to attempt a quick crochet Po for the birthday girl.

I couldn't find a Po pattern, and so muddled through modifying a free crochet panda pattern from Angie's Art Studio.  The original pattern was a breeze to follow, by the way.  And, just so I don't forget myself - the modifications were: changing colors for the legs, and bottom of the body, to make pants, adding yellow stitches (sewn on) and then looping through red string for the belt, adding an extra round of stitching to the muzzle, and two extra stitches and an extra round to the belly (making 32 instead of 30 stitches in the middle), removing one round of stitches from the ears to make them smaller, and crocheting rounds similar to the ears for the eye patches, with white felt sewn on top.

All the changes made the pattern a little fussier than I would have liked, and the shortness of time meant I had to settle for how it turned out the first time through.  I wasn't completely happy with the results, though now that I look back at the original bear - this one does look more Po-ish.  My children liked him anyway, and the birthday girl held him on her lap to watch the movie, so I guess that makes him a success.

Personally, I had a lot more fun trying to piece together Oreo cookie and M&M pandas for a post movie snack.  They didn't turn out looking anything like Po either...

...but I think he would have appreciated the attempt to craft (and eat) to our potential.

 "If you only do what you can do, you'll never be more that you are now." (Shifu, Kung Fu Panda 3)

Free Crochet Pattern Link - Baby Dinosaur.

After I finished up the Sleepy Sarah baby gnome doll for my great-niece (maybe that should be grand-niece?), I got to thinking it wasn't very nice to send her a gift and leave her older brother completely out (not so close to Christmas, anyway).

Living a couple of states away, and being only a grand-aunt, I don't really know the little guy in question all that well, so I went neutral and searched out a dinosaur pattern.  I'm thinking he's about seven.  Seven year olds still like dinosaurs, right? 

My kids liked him anyway. I had a hard time keeping them from whisking him away to their rooms before I could get him safely packed up into a box for mailing.  Even T (age 18) gave him a grin - pretty high praise from a college student.

You can find the free pattern by Jana Whitley, here, at Ravelry.com.  The only thing I changed for mine, was to use an (F) Hook instead of an (E), and I looped through with a different colored yarn to crochet a row of single stitches down the back - for interest.

The pattern is a pure joy to follow.  It's very clear and nicely organize, and simple (all single crochets and no embroidery!).  The project itself is a do-in-one-sitting sort, perfect for this busy time right before Christmas. 

Another Year Another Sleepy Sarah - Crochet Pattern Link

Six Christmases ago, while planning a quick trip out to Oregon, for what would prove to be a last visit with the children's great-grandmother, I took a few minutes to crochet a "Sleepy Sarah" doll, following the super simple baby gnome pattern from Owlishy, as a gift for an Oregon born great niece.

This Christmas that little great-niece of mine has a new baby cousin.  Naturally, she needed a Sleepy Sarah of her own.

I used baby yarn, rather than worsted weight, this time around, and switched over to a size E hook for a smaller gnome - she's about 5'' tall.  The pattern is just terrific (and free) - so quick, easy, and cute.  Sadly, I think my embroidery skills have actually gotten worse over the last six year, if that's possible.

I think I feel a New Year's resolution coming on.

Crochet Christmas Gnomes

I decided yesterday, it was time to pack away the owls that have been perched on our end table since early October, and replace them with something a little more wintry.

Actually, first I considered just crocheting each owl a little Christmas cap, and leaving them be.  But, then I decided it would be just about as easy to modify their pattern slightly to make Christmas gnomes instead.

You can find the original owl pattern back a few posts by clicking here.  To make gnomes instead of owls:

• Change colors and crochet the first row of the decrease in the outside of the stitches of the previous row.
• Leave the point up, instead of folding it over.
• Add a nose (make a loop,  and crochet three or four stitches into it, leaving a long tail on both ends for sewing it on) just below the hat line.
• Tie individual pieces of yarn below the hat and nose, fray and trim into a beard.
• Thread a darning needle with a long length of the hat color, and whip stitch around the brim of the hat to give it a little more definition.

Traditionally, Christmas gnomes should be dressed in red, or possibly gray.  I used green for the bodies - choosing similar colors to our owls.  I like the green, but it does give the gnomes a little bit of an unintentional Pa Grape vibe.

Crochet Owl Pattern

I saw some owls similar to these while prowling around on Pinterest, last night, but with no link to a pattern.

They were so cute I really wanted to pull out my yarn and hook, and try to puzzle out the pattern right then.  It was late though, so I had to delay until morning, drifting off with owls and patterns on the brain, and waking up at 0'dark 30, tripping through, attempting to gather my supplies without waking the children - ready to crochet.

After a couple of attempts, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome.  I'm not much of a pattern writer, but occasionally record my attempts here, so as not to lose them, should I ever want to make another.

I neglected once, to record a pattern for a double-finger puppet shark...

...and now have no idea how to make another - bummer!

Anyway, as to the owls...

Using a G hook, and worsted weight yarn, tie on, chain 2, and slip stitch through the first chain to make a loop.
Round 1: Sc 5 into the loop (5 sts)
Round 2: Dc into each of the 5 sc (10 sts)
Round 3: *Sc 1 into the first st and 2 into the next, to increase* repeat between ** four more times, around (15 sts)
Round 4: *Sc 1 into the first two sts and 2 into the next, to increase* repeat between ** four more times around (20 sts)
Round 5: *Sc 1 into the first 3 sts and 2 into the next, to increase* repeat between ** four more times around (25 sts)
Round 6: *Sc 1 into the first 4 sts and 2 into the next, to increase* repeat between ** four more times around (30 sts)
Rounds 7-8: Sc 1 into each st around (30 sts)
Round 9: *Sc in the first 4 sts and decrease 1* repeat between ** four more times around (25 sts)
Round 10:  *Sc in the first 3 sts and decrease 1* repeat between ** four more times around (20 sts)
Rounds 11-12: Sc in each st around (20 sts)
Stuff the ball portion, firmly, with poly-fil.
Round 13: *Sc in the first 2 sts and decrease 1* repeat between ** four more times around (15 sts)
Round 14: Sc in each st around (15 sts)
Round 15: *Sc one, decrease 1* repeat between ** four more times around (10 sts)
Round 16: Sc in each st around (10 sts)
Round 17: Decrease 1 each st around (5 sts)
Round 18: Sc 1, decrease 1, sc the last two sts (4 sts)
Round 19: Decrease 1, decrease 1 (2 sts)
Slip stitch the 2 together, tie off with a long tail.
Weave the crochet hook in from the bottom to pull the loose tail in, a couple of rows below the center (wherever it reaches when the tip is folded over), and back out the bottom.
Tie off securely, and tuck in.

Eyes (make 2):  With white, or even better - glow-in-the-dark yarn (for that little touch of spooky):

Tie on, chain 2, slip stitch through the first chain, to make a loop. 
Sc 4 (or 5 for slightly bigger eyes) into the loop.
Sc 2 into each stitch around (add another row of scs if you like) or
Sl through the next st, and tie off with a long tail to sew.
Sew the eyes, meeting under the beak.
Add a circle of black felt, a button, or black safety eye to the center of each eye for pupils, and you're done (with the first one, anyway).

Tiny Pumpkin Pattern, Knit and Purl Practice

I am a novice knitter.  Making little knit kittens for my children, and just about every neighbor child we've ever had over the years, I've grown fairly familiar with the basic knit stitch.

Purling, however, is another matter altogether.  I have to look up instructions for purling almost every time its called for in a pattern (this is my favorite "how to purl" video of the moment).

Being a homeschool mom, I think its important for the children to see me struggling through, and learning things on my own, in the same way I hope they will pursue their interests.  With that in mind, one of my goals for this fall is to become better at purling, and more skilled at knitting in general.

A quick search of free fall knitting patterns turned up a pumpkin pattern using the stockinette stitch (alternating rows of knitting and purling).  My free time tends to be short, so I modified and downsized the original pattern, so I could practice my knits and purls in short, five and ten minute increments, without having to keep track of where I was in a larger pattern.

In case you'd like to practice your puling too, or would just happen to like to make a tiny pumpkin or two (or twenty), I've fumbled out the modified pattern below.

Using size 8 needles and worsted weight yarn, cast on 13 stitches.

Knit Row 1.
Purl Row 2.
Knit Row 3.
Purl Row 4.
Knit Row 5.
Purl Row 6.
Knit Row 7.
Purl Row 8.
In Row 9 - knit 2 together, knit 1, knit 2 tog, knit 1, knit 2 tog, knit 1, knit 2 tog, knit 2 tog.
Purl Row 10.
Cast off Row 11.
Tie off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

The knit side of the work should look something like the picture above, and the purl side should look like the picture below.

Fold the piece in half by bring the top edges together, knit side on the inside, and sew together the side and bottom edges (leave the top edge open for turning and stuffing).

Pull the stitching tight to gather in the bottom.

Turn it knitting side out...

Stuff with a bit of fluff...

...and sew up the top (which will ultimately become the bottom of the pumpkin).

 Stitch the tail of yarn down, from the opposite side, through the middle of the pumpkin...

...draping the yarn into one of the valleys of the ribbing...

...and pull it tight to create a sectioned effect to the pumpkin.

Repeat four to six (or more) times around the pumpkin, until it has a nice bumpy sort of look.

Trim off the extra yarn.

Create a stem by casting on two stitches of tan or brown yarn, knitting one row, and casting off and tying.  Thread the tail back through the stitches...

...and use the loose ends to sew the stem onto the top of the pumpkin...

...crossing them on the bottom...

...and then sewing back up through the stem...

...and trimming off.

By the time you make half a dozen or so, you'll be knitting and purling like a pro (or better than a beginner, anyway).

Summer Fun 2014 - Finger Crochet a 4th of July Bracelet

Supplies:

- Red, white and blue worsted weight yarn

- Scissors

- Bells or beads

- A darning needle

- An index finger, and a free hand.











Line up the three colors of yarn, to use as if they were one yarn.

Tie the yarn into a slip knot...

...over your index finger.

Tighten the knot (not too tight)...

...and slip it back on your finger to make room...

...for a second loop of yarn.  Wrap the working yarn (the part attached to the balls of yarn) around your finger to form a second loop (draping it over the top, rather than wrapping it all the way around).

Pull the slip knot up, and over the second loop...

...and right off the end of your finger.

Tighten the stitch by pulling on the working yarn, while holding onto the slip knot end of the chain.

Push the second loop back and continue wrapping, slipping over and off, and tightening until you have a single chain long enough to wrap loosely around your wrist.

Remove the chain from your finger, being careful not to lose the last loop.  Cut the working yarn loose from the balls of yarn, leaving a long tail...

...to slip back through the last loop, and tie.

Tie the two ends of the chain together, to make a circle.

Trim the tail pieces to make them even, or until they look a little like the trailing ends of a firework.

Thread beads, or bells onto the ends, using a darning needle, or your hands if the hole in the bead is big enough, tying them in place with a knot at the end of each piece.

Slip the bracelet around your wrist, and get ready to make a great big...

...patriotic noise.