My Hook is on Fire

Sorry about not posting the pattern for the Granny Square hat yet. I ran out of the yarn I used for the squares. Didn't want to to work the hat with another brand because I was afraid it would throw off the gauge. We have had over 20 inches of snow in the past week. Had a power outage that lasted for almost a whole day and I am still trying to recover from a bad stomach bug. I've been out only once in the past week. Maybe a few more days before I am ready to venture out again. As long as I still have yarn, I am in good shape. In fact, I own so much of it, I could probably open a small store myself.

Have had a lot of time to work on a few projects on my to do list. I will share some of them and links to the patterns if I can find them.

These are Button up Cocoons I worked with a pattern from Red Heart.  This pattern did have a few new stitches but the instructions were clear and I didn't have any problems following them. It took me about 4 hours for each cocoon. I worked the hats in concession. The first one took a little longer about 40 minutes. Since I was familiar with the pattern, the second one only took about 30 minutes. I really like this set and it is now my new go to pattern.
http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/button-baby-cocoon-and-hat

I finally took the time to learn the Crocodile Stitch. Made this little hat  and learned the stitch  watching a You Tube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ebo8Rqgy4g
The stitch is labor intensive and eats a lot of yarn but it is well worth it. This little hat is very dense and warm. I am going to make myself a scarf using this stitch. Also thought about making another baby hat in red, adding a stem and leaves and sewing little black beads to the end of each petal. Would make a very cute little Strawberry hat. Don't you agree?

 Every little girl should own a Sailor Dress. Made the dress and cap from a pattern I purchased from Leisure Arts. My mind is already working on a pattern for a little boy to match this dress. Who knows, maybe sometime soon I can post it. Made some little MaryJanes in Navy to match the dress. Only finished those a few days ago. Made the dress about 4 weeks ago.

It was only a matter of time. I finally made my first owl hat. I used Fun fur for the outline of the ears and the braid. Most of my earflap hats and beanies are made using either single crochet or half double crochets. I think they are much warmer than those that are made with double crochets.

This is a hat I made for one of my granddaughters. She lives with several Pug friends. This is a purchased pattern. Ira Roth on Etsy is the designer. She has some very cute patterns and is a very talented.

This hat happened by accident. It started as a practice project. I was trying to figure out how to work the spiral. I knew it was just a matter of moving the front post double crochets in a pattern, but I wasn't quite sure how to work it with the increase rounds. I only had to undo a total of 2 rounds before it clicked. Before I knew it, another hat was done. This is also the same day I designed a new flower. It is the same Large 6 Petal flower I used for the Diaper set in my last post. My Mother-in law is now the proud owner of a new spring hat. It fits her perfectly.

A couple of Fun Mowhawk earflap hats I did in January. I made these out of I love this Yarn by Hobby Lobby. The only yarn I was able to purchase locally in Neon colors. Hobby Lobby is having a problem with the manufacturer of their yarn. The shelves are getting empty and I am not sure if they are going to continue selling the yarn I love to work with. These hats are best when worked with a single crochet. I cut my yarn about 5 inches and add 3 strands to the center line of the hat. I am working on a Peace sign and Skull and Crossbones to add to the sides. My 2 grandsons love their hats. They had people at Walmart stop them to find out, where they got their hats.

This hat was designed by my 6 year old granddaughter. This little girl knew what she wanted. The body of this hat is made using the Bobble stitch. I added 2 rounds of single crochets for each stripe of the trim. The final version also had small crochet bows at the end of the pig tails.

As you can tell, I love to crochet hats. They are a great way to work out new pattern and stitches. They work up quick and the possibilities are endless. Most of these hats are made, without to use of a pattern. Once you know the basic construction of the hat, it is very easy to design your own master pieces. If you need a little help, refer back to one of my previous posts on how to design and properly fit a hat. One day soon, I am going to figure out how to link back to previous posts. At this point I can only recommend looking at the menu.

My newest project is a spiral pattern beanie. This is a new and very nice free pattern, I started this morning. I do not recommened working  this pattern without suffisiant amounts of caffein in your system. An hour later, starting it twice, I was stuck on round four. For some reason, my brain and hook did not want to work in unsisom on this pattern. This was one of those rare times, I had to put a project aside for a while. I will try again tomorrow. This pattern is perfect for a male and I thought it was very nice to use as a base for a bearded beanie. Will post some picture if I ever get it done.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swirl-beanie

How to do Crochet Poncho

This poncho is very easy to make. Made this one for my 12 year old grandson. He wears a size 14-16 in boys. I made this one to fit a little bit large so it should also fit a small adult.

For the finished product I used worsted weight
 yarn and a size J (6mm) crochet hook.

Main color: Red Heart Super Saver 16oz dk blue
                  Red Heart Super Saver   7oz turqua                          
                  Red Heart Super Saver   7oz white                                    

Loosely chain 56, slip stitch to form ring.

Round 1:  Chain 1, with main color, sc in each chain.           (56 sc). Slip stitch in 1st sc.

Round 2: Chain 3 (beginning half double crochet made) half double crochet in each stitch. (56 half double crochet). slip stitch in top of beg. chain 3).

Round 3: Chain 5. (beg. double crochet and first chain two space made). Double crochet in same stitch. (First corner made.) Double crochet in next 14 stitches; 1 double crochet, chain 2, 1 double crochet in next stitch. 14 dc, 1 dc chain 2 1 dc, repeat till end of round. Slip Stitch to 3 chain in beginning corner. (62 hdc and 4 chain 2 spaces)

Rounds 4,5,6,7 Repeat round 3 (gaining 8 stitches in each round).

Round 8: Join White, chain 3 (first sc and chain 2 space made) Sc in same stitch and in each double crochet on previous round (corners sc, chain 2, sc).

Round 9: repeat round 8.

Round 10: With main color dc (corners 1 dc, chain 2, dc).

Round 11 and 12: With Turqua, repeat 8 and 9.

Round 13: repeat round 10.

Round 14 and 15, with White repeat rd 9 and 10.

Round 16, 17 and 18, repeat round 10.

Round 19 and 20: repeat 12 and 13.

Round 21 and 22: repeat 8 and 9.

Round 23 and 24: repeat 12 and 13.

Round 25, 26 and 27: repeat round 10.

Repeat rounds 8 through 27 one more time.

For border, 2 rounds of sc in each stitch. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Attach fringe. Cut strips of yarn twice the amount of desired length. Fold in half. Insert hook from front to back ( both loops of ending round), pull loop through, catch strands with hook and pull through loop. I used 1 strand about 7 inches long in each stitch. If you desire a fuller or longer fringe, use 2 strands, cut to desired length.

This pattern can be easily adjusted or size. When adding chains to beginning chain, make sure the number of chains is in multiples of 4, so you can divide evenly for each of the 4 sides. It is also a good project for using remnant yarn.

My Love of Afghans

Today's post is all about my love of crocheting. I started about 45 years ago. My favorite projects are afghans. Every member in my family owns at least one or two afghans I made. Now that I have more free time, I started a new one. It's a stained glass window pattern, perfect for my 10 year old granddaughter Brianna.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/julieannys-stained-glass-afghan-square

This is a free pattern available on ravelry.com. I used to spend a small fortune in pattern books. Thanks to Pintrest, I now have enough free projects, to keep my busy for the next 10 years. If you are an experienced crocheter, you shouldn't have any problems following this pattern. The skill level required to do this particular one, I would rate as intermediate. For this afghan I decided to alternate the two pinks in my squares.So far I have completed 5. Now that I am getting the hang of this pattern, it is taking me about 1 1/2 hrs. to complete a square. Should improve to about an hour once I get a few more done. Each square measures almost 12 inches. I am not sure yet, as of how many I need to complete. Once I get a few more done, I should have a better idea. As soon as I get a couple of rows assembled I will post a picture with an update. My goal is to get there within a week.

If you decide to start one of your own and run into any problems, please let me know. I will be happy to help you along. You can also go to ravelry and check out the comment section. I found quite a few pictured in different color combinations if pink is not your style.