Freebie Friday- Pattern – Mom’s Crochet

It’s always such a nice surprise to discover something my mother made that I had never seen before. Inevitably, I want to figure out how to make it, even if I never plan to, you know, actually make it. I go about this by looking at the piece to see if I can figure it out myself, and when I fail at that, I look it up online. That has various success rates. Sometimes, I’m lucky and I find a pattern, but most of the time I don’t. This is because I’m looking up the pattern based on how the item looks to me. The pattern might be out there in cyberspace but I don’t have the right search words to find it.

True story (mostly, it depends on who you ask)

Sibling rivalry is real. It is alive and thriving with my siblings. Whilst visiting my sister, she regaled me with a story about how she discovered a bag underneath her bed. A bag that had been there for so long, she didn’t even know how long. For one reason or another, she pulled it out wondering what was in there. That’s when she found a blanket that my mother gave her that she hadn’t looked at in years. Turns out, it was double-sided and very thick and pretty. She had made it for one of this sister’s kids.

The picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s heavy and  stretchy and prettier than it looks.

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Freebie Friday -Unique Egg Apron

Ok, so not everyone needs an egg apron (admittedly I don’t either) but kudos for originality! I saw this on Pinterest and had to share. Maybe it’s just me but I’ve never seen anything like it. So maybe I don’t need it to collect eggs but an apron with pockets like that does open up other possible uses. I kept looking at it, loving it, and automatically trying to think up other uses for it. I couldn’t think of anything concrete but the possibilities of possibilities was infinite! Hmm…maybe I could adapt the pattern to have bigger pockets to hold yarn and other yarny supplies. That way,  I could walk while I crochet. I can’t even think straight to other possible uses but I know there ARE other uses. Surely, others will have ideas of their own. I have to go give this some more thought. All I know is that I love it!

 

 

Freebie Friday – Pretty (not ugly) Crochet Slippers

Ok, I’ve shown you my ugly crochet slippers so I thought it only fair I find a pattern for pretty crochet slippers. These are super cute and something I would try myself someday.

Freebie Friday – Crochet Skirts

I have been crocheting for a long time but I hardly ever make clothing. I’ve made many hats and scarves…that I hardly ever wear, except my holiday hats I pull out once a year. I even made mittens once as a request item but just the once. I mostly give the hats and scarves away. I’ve recently embarked in trying to finish two sweater coats (more posts on the way) that I’m loving but that’s about it. Oh, once I followed a pattern for a lacy top that I wore once and then gave away. But that’s really it! I guess I should count the costumes. I made two mermaid skirts and a dragon cloak. But again, costumes! Not real clothing. Clothing was just never my thing. I like making toys, costumes, whimsical things for the holidays and such.

But…one thing I think about often is making a crochet skirt.I’ve been wanting to make myself a crochet skirt for a long time now. It’s something that bounces around in my brain but hasn’t actually come out. Lately though, the itch to make it has become stronger. I’ve been puttering around the internet more often salivating at dresses and skirts. And now, I feel I’m ready to give a skirt a try. Not sure yet if I’ll make one up or if I’ll copy one already out there but here are some that looked easy to make (so that I might actually try it) and was something pretty that I would actually wear.

I love stripes and this one has the feel of stripes with a nice twist.

More stripes but chevrons make it different, right?  You have to register for this one but it’s free and it’s cute so I think it’s worth it.

 

Have to have a black skirt in the bunch.

This one doesn’t have a pattern and I wouldn’t wear it out in public but this would be great for the Renaissance Fair. I couldn’t resist a costume! I think I can make something similar without a pattern.

 

I am not affiliated with any websites nor do I make any money from these sites. They are simply patterns I like or would like to try myself. 

Freebie Friday – Crochet Poop Emoji

 

Poop emoji, I can’t get away from it. The kids love it. Lately, it’s the biggest request I get from the students. They think it’s hilarious. I refused to  make it for the prize box. I could just hear all the silly poop jokes an inappropriate sounds. Let’s not even mention all the hijinks I’d be subjected to in the name of comedy. I did relent for the craft fair though. Hey, if they wanted to buy it who was I to argue? The parents would have to deal with the shenanigans at home. I just needed to figure out how to make one.

I went online to find other crochet poop emojis and what I found wasn’t exactly what I was

Sweater Progress

I have a whole week off from work for Thanksgiving and I was ruminating about my granny square sweater and its million and one plugs hanging around in my craft bag. With all this time off, I thought I should really get cracking on that and try to fill in some holes. But then…I had a new thought. Perhaps I could just start a new sweater. I would probably finish it sooner than plugging away at my old sweater.

Visions of stitches I could use and color patterns I could configure danced in my head. Enticing pictures from the web flitted across my screen screaming that they wouldn’t take long at all to make. I was tempted, I still am, but no, I couldn’t abandon my granny square sweater. I needed to tend to that first. So, I finished 10 squares in one day! Unfortunately that meant I spent most of my day sitting but I felt very accomplished even though my bones were very creaky with atrophy.

Don’t know if I will convince myself to pick it up again today. Starting a new sweater still sounds tempting. This photo keeps calling to me.

Pattern

I’m looking at it as a template. The star stitch and colors are buzzing in my head. I like the idea of the horizontal section at the bottom  with the vertical stripes at the top. I’m thinking the start stitch would look really nice with alternating colors. The star stitch would make a very thick and warm coat. No holes to plug! Might be too thick though. I would need a yarn that wasn’t too thick. And that is what’s stopping me from starting a new sweater. I would need to buy more yarn. I have so much yarn in my craft room but not enough of any one kind to finish a sweater.

Then again, I could challenge myself to come up with something that could incorporate what I have into a pleasant design. Hmmm…this needs some more thought…

Meanwhile, back to plugging.

Freebie Friday – Halloween Wench

I have been wanting to make my own corset for the Renaissance Faire but haven’t come up with anything on my own. Today, I came across this pattern from Red Heart yarns while looking for Halloween ideas. Lately, I have been pretty impressed with the patterns I’m finding at Red Heart.

This pattern can be easily adapted for Ren Faire and I plan to give it a try.  But in the meantime, it’s almost Halloween! 🎃👻

Pattern can be found here.

 

I am not affiliated with any websites nor do I make any money from these sites. They are simply patterns I like or would like to try myself.

Freebie Friday – Emoji with Sunglasses

I was talking on the phone with hubby and my hands felt idle. It was the perfect opportunity to grab some yarn and make an emoji. I had the idea rattling in my brain since one of my students requested (turned into a suggestion, no more personal requests 🙂 I make one. It was an easy and quick project to work on while gabbing away. I almost got it done by the time we hung up. We do talk for a long time. Love my hubby.

This one didn’t last long in the prize box. It was snatched up right away. There’s nothing worse than making something I think the kids like only to have the poor item sitting in the box for months and, eek, forever. I always feel a little thrill when they pick one of my pieces and run around with it. It’s all about the little pleasures. 🙂

I plan on making more and experimenting with different faces and edgings. These seem so natural for the prize box.

Freebie Friday – YouTube Pillow

One happy student walked away with this YouTube pillow. Unfortunately it wasn’t the student who asked for it. I didn’t think anyone else wanted it so I threw it in the prize box. I know I said I wouldn’t take anymore personal requests BUT I’m telling myself it isn’t a personal request just because I’m making a new one and hiding it until this student makes it to prize box and then I’ll sneakily put it back in. I’m innocent I say!

It’s super simple to make so I’m almost ashamed to call it a Freebie Friday pattern but still…here it is. 

Freebie Friday – Red Pokeball

A sure fire way to get students interested in crochet is to make fun things in front of them. Since I tend to make fun and whimsical things anyway, my maniacal plan works perfectly. Just recently, I was making something for the prize box that many of the students wanted. A student who never expressed an interest in crochet suddenly wanted to learn the craft. Seeing me crochet helps them to envision themselves making all sorts of things they didn’t think were possible.

The students were all very excited when they saw me making these.

I’m not taking personal requests from the students anymore but I am taking suggestions (they are personal requests that I turn into suggestions) on what to make. So far, I have made an  emoji with sunglasses,  a YouTube pillow (I had to ask for clarification on that one), and a Pokeball (this was the project that inspired my student). They were all simple to make and worked up fairly quickly.