Crochet Hat Round-Up

As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been busy the past couple of months getting ready to sell my crafts at a Mom to Mom sale in Beamsville, ON. The majority of what I have made has been hats that look like things for babies and kids. I came across this pattern, and used it for the majority of the ones that I made! It is a basic pattern, but there are plenty of things that you can do with just using different colours and embellishments. I am not posting individual patterns for the embellishments for each of these hats, but hopefully the pictures will provide some inspiration! Thank you to Micah Makes for the pattern! If you don't crochet, but knit, you could use the basic pattern from my Knitted Baby Bow Hat and use different colours and embellishments, and add stitches in multiples of 4 to make it bigger.

Football Hat- Brown yarn, embroider white stripes

Minion Hat (from Despicable Me)- Yellow, with black stripe, follow the first few rounds of the hat with black and white to make the eye, and embroider the mouth, and add some tassles on top

Angry Birds Hat- Red hat, I made up how to do the eyes and nose (circles and semi-circles for eyes, triangle for nose, rectangle for eyebrows)

Bear hat- brown yarn, crocheted semi-circles for ears

Owl Hat- Light brown on top, dark brown on the bottom, follow the first few rounds in black and white for the eyes to make circles, I just crocheted triangles for the ears and beak

Mickey Mouse Hat- Black on top, red on bottom, follow first few rounds of hat to make ears, sew on yellow buttons. I also made a minnie mouse one with a bow, but forgot to take a picture!

Flower Hat- I followed the pattern without the earflaps and sewed on a crocheted flower

 

Knitted Flower Hat- I used the pattern from my baby bow hat, and sewed on a crocheted flower

Valentine's Day Yarn Wreath

Since buying a house, I have to admit that one of my favourite things is having a front door that I can make various wreaths for. My goal is to have different wreaths for each season/most holidays. You may want to check out my Ornament Wreath Tutorial, or check out the pictures at the bottom of my Halloween wreath (no tutorial blogged for that one) and additional ornament wreaths I made this year. I got inspiration for this wreath from my friend Sarah over at The Divine Secrets of Ya-Ya's Kitchen. We took a trip to Hobby Lobby in the states before going to Olive Garden for our friend's birthday a few weeks ago and that's where I got the supplies for this project. Enjoy!

Materials:
-1 wreath form
-1 ball pink yarn (Supersaver)
-1 piece each of red and pink felt
-1 ball white yarn
-tacky glue

Instructions

1. (Optional) Wrap the yarn into a ball that fits in your hand easily. This step is optional, but I found it easier/faster to wrap the yarn this way than with the whole ball.

2. Tie the end of the yarn in a knot around the wreath form (I got this one from Hobby Lobby for $3.99, made of straw and covered in plastic wrap- leave the plastic wrap on).

3. Start wrapping! Wrap the yarn around the form (on top of the tail end), keeping it somewhat tight. Try to avoid having the yarn overlap- it's not a huge deal, but I think that it makes it look nicer. This will be inevitable at some points since it is not a straight line. If you run out of yarn, wrap a new ball, and tie the ends together, continue wrapping over the tail ends.

4. Once you have gone around the wreath once, go around again to cover up any holes. I found with the straw wreath form there were some parts that seemed to poke out. The second time you go around, don't worry about criss-crossing the yarn. Pull it nice and tight and you won't be able to tell the difference. I just went around to cover the spots that you could still see the straw underneath. Tie in the final end, and tuck it into the yarn.

5. Embellish it! To make it Valentine's Day-y, I cut out some hearts from felt (the red one is even sparkly!) and glued them on using tacky glue. Then I took a long piece of white yarn, started with the middle at the back of the wreath, and criss-crossed it around to get the argyle look, then tied the ends together at the back and tucked them in. You can also use different colours of yarn, make felt flowers, letters, etc. Be creative!
 

Valentine's Day Ornament Wreath

Halloween Wreath

Christmas Ornament Wreaths

Knitted Baby Bow Hat

I love Pinterest for getting craft ideas, recipes, and patterns, but one of the frustrating things about it is that some of the pictures lead to listings on Etsy or other places that don't have the pattern. But that won't stop this crafty girl! I semi-made-up this pattern by modifying a simple hat pattern I have in my stash and copying the picture. This pattern is fairly simple, and really cute! Perfect for using up scraps too :) I'm not great at knowing sizes, but I think it would fit a 0-3 month infant. To make it bigger, add stitches in multiples of 4 before casting on. You could also use the basic hat pattern and add stripes, flowers, or make it look like an animal. See my Crochet Hat Round-Up post for ideas. Be creative!

Knitted Baby Bow Hat

Materials:

2 colours worsted weight yarn (size 4)

6 mm (US 10) knitting needles

Hat:

Using main colour, cast on 44 stitches. Work knit 1 purl 1 ribbing for 1". Work 4 rows stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row). Switch to accent colour and work 4 rows stocking stitch. Switch back to main colour and continue in stocking stitch until it measures approx. 5" from beginning.

Decrease:

Row 1: [Knit 2, knit 2 together] to end of row
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: [Knit 1, knit 2 together] to end of row
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: [Knit 2 together] to end of row
Row 6: [Purl 2 together] to end of row.

Cut yarn and pull through loops.

Bow:

Cast on 16 stitches (using accent colour yarn)
Knit in garter stitch (knit every row) until the bow measures approx. 1".
Cast off and sew in ends.

Finishing:

Sew the bow onto the coloured stripe by looping around it several times. Make sure that you sew through the bow piece at least once so it can't get pulled out. Sew in all loose ends, and sew the middle seam.

Notes:

You can easily modify this pattern to be bigger by adding stitches in multiples of 4 (i.e. add 4, 8, 12, etc. stitches), and making it a bit longer. If you want it to be stretchier, use bigger size needles. To make it tighter, you can use smaller needles for the ribbing at the bottom, and bigger needles for the main part.

If you want to make this pattern with baby weight yarn, cast on 64 stitches and use 4mm knitting needles.  

A black and white one, made a bit bigger by adding stitches

A turquoise and white one, made tighter by using smaller sized needles for the ribbing at the bottom

Christmas Pinterest Party!

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted my very own Christmas Pinterest Party (guess where I got the idea from...)! Here are the instructions I included on the Facebook invitations...

"You are invited to a Pinterest Party, Christmas edition!

Basically what will happen is everyone brings something they saw on Pinterest for us to all do together! Anything is fair game: crafts, recipes, hairstyles, nails, or you can even clean/reorganize my house! We will all go home with some yummy food and crafty projects to keep for yourself or give as Christmas gifts.

If you aren't on Pinterest, or have little to no crafty/domestic skills, don't worry about it, still come and have fun! You can bring a recipe or something that you didn't see on Pinterest, or you can just come to hang out or play with my kitten!

Please RSVP on here, and once you decide what pin to do, post the link on the wall. Also, if anyone needs any ingredients or baking/crafty supplies for their pin, just let me know, I have plenty!"

So a bunch of my girlfriends from school came over and we had lots of fun! Most people brought food that was already made, but I think it worked out better that way because we wouldn't have had time to make a craft/recipe from each person that came. We ended up making 2 recipes, and 3 crafts together. Here are instructions for some of the cool things we did!

Spinach Cranberry Cream Cheese Wraps

 I made this recipe before everyone arrived, based on two things I saw on Pinterest, this one for the display as a Christmas tree, and this one for the contents. Here is the recipe I used for the wraps (sorry I don't have amounts, it doesn't really matter anyways). I like how they looked so Christmas-y and were super easy to throw together.

Ingredients
-spinach tortillas
-baby spinach
-plain cream cheese
-craisins

Spread the tortillas with plain cream cheese. Top with craisins and spinach. Wrap up into pinwheels, and then cut into 1" slices. That's it! The original pin called for feta cheese and green onions, but I didn't have them so I left them out! I imagine it would taste good though. I was low on cream cheese so I didn't use very much, but more would probably taste better!

Pinterest vs Reality: Christmas Tree Wraps

 Apple Nachos

A lot of people were really confused about the concept of apple nachos, but they were really good! If you like apples and peanut butter, then you will like apple nachos!

Ingredients
-4 apples (I used 6 and it was too much)
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Slice the apples, and then put them in a large bowl of water with 1 tsp lemon juice so they don't get brown. Melt the peanut butter, and pour over the apple slices. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and voila! The original pin (here) added almonds, pecans, and coconut, but I didn't, and it was still delicious! You could also use caramel sauce instead of peanut butter and it would be yummy too.

Pinterest vs Reality: Apple Nachos

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (AKA Monkey Bread)

Erin brought this recipe that her mom used to make that is also all over Pinterest. And for good reason, it was delicious!

Ingredients
-2 package Pilsbury country biscuits
-3/4 cup white sugar
-1 tbsp cinnamon
-1/2 cup melted butter

-1/2 package (250g) cream cheese
-1/2 cup icing sugar
-1-2 tbsp milk

Cut the biscuits into quarters or bite-size pieces. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Dip the biscuit pieces into 1/4 cup of melted butter, then into the sugar mixture, and put them into a greased bundt pan until it is half full. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup butter on top, and then add the rest of the biscuit pieces (dipped in butter/sugar mix). Mix together the leftover butter and sugar mixture and pour it over the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350F (I recommend putting a spare cookie sheet under it in case the butter leaks).

While it is baking, beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, and milk to make the icing. When it is finished baking, invert onto a serving plate, and spread the icing on top. It is eaten by pulling apart the pieces like monkeys (hence the name). It tastes amazing while it is still warm too!

Erin with her Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Sharpie Mugs

This project was really easy and would make a great Christmas present (actually, many of the girls made them for gifts so I could only post my own)! I chose to write our favourite Bible verse, Ephesians 3:17-24 on mine. What you do is you draw on plain coloured mugs (from the dollar store) with sharpies, and then bake them for 30 minutes at 350F. After it first came out of the oven, the writing wouldn't wipe off, but I put it through the dishwasher and it wipes off a little, so I would recommend hand washing them, or using it for a platter or something that would be more decoration. The link to the original pin is here.

 
Mod Podge Glass Pebble Magnets

This was the craft that I provided for the party. Very simple, cute, and cheap! Check out the tutorial from a previous post here.

Brie and Jaspreet with their magnets

Christmas Cards

Two of the girls were "pinspired" by all the wonderful Christmas cards on Pinterest, so we got out all the supplies and went mad! I don't have a specific tutorial for this, just let the creative juices flow!

Erin and Felicia with their cards

Knitting Update

I have been a horrible blogger recently as it has been about 2 months since I last posted something! My excuses are working full-time, buying a house, and getting everything ready for our wedding! (There will be lots of wedding posts coming up soon!) Another tough thing about my blogging is that most of the things that I make are for gifts, and I don't want to post pictures until after I have given it to whoever it is going to, and sometimes I don't know who I am making something for. This post is basically just a menagerie of different knitting projects that I have done recently and am either keeping or have already given to their recipient. I am sorry that I do not have the patterns posted, most of the ones I use have been from my mom's collection from yarn labels, booklets, and other sources. The Bernat website has lots of great patterns to check out too!

Knitted Mug Cozy

Cable Mittens

Corner-to-Corner Throw Blanket

 

Corner-to-Corner Baby Blanket

The pattern for the two blankets above is way too easy not to share! It's basically the same as the basic dishcloth pattern, but rectangle and with thicker yarn. Get some yarn and a round needle with the appropriate gauge (I used Homespun). Cast on 3 stitches. Knit 1, inc 1, knit to end of row. Repeat until desired width. Alternate row 1 [Knit 1, inc 1, knit to end of row.] and row 2 [Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to end of row] until desired length. Knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to end of row. Repeat until 3 stitches left, cast off.

Throw Blanket

This blanket has a story.... I made up the pattern to this one all on my own. I was sitting looking at someone's sweater, and figured out the pattern for it, and made it into a blanket pattern. I started knitting with some brown yarn that I had got on sale, and after I started onto the 3rd ball I realized that it was a different colour! Somehow I bought 3 balls of chocolate brown, and 3 balls of another shade of brown. The moral of the story is to always double check the name of the colour on the lables before you buy 6 balls that you think are the same colour! Needless to say, I ripped out the blanket, and haven't tried out my pattern again yet. 

Baby Hat and Bootie Set

Crocheted Scarf

Flower Neck Warmer

Baby Flower Hat

For this hat, I just followed a basic baby hat pattern, and used the pattern for the flower in the neck warmer above but with smaller needles/yarn. I got my mother-in-law onto this, so now all her baby girl hats have flowers on them. Way cuter this way!

Knitted Seed Stitch Throw Blanket

Cowl Scarf

Cabled Hat

Cabled Throw Blanket

Knit Throw Blanket

 This blanket also has a story to it... I bought two different colours of yarn, brown and beige on clearance at Michael's and was knitting with the two strands together. I got about 3/4 through and realized that I didn't have enough beige yarn to finish, so I went back to Michael's. Unfortunately the yarn was discontinued, so I couldn't get more of it! So I ripped out the whole thing, and started over by knitting 3 strands together- 2 brown and 1 beige. I did finish it in time for the wedding it was a gift for! I am pretty sure that this pattern was either straight knitting, or seed stitch (k1 p1 for a row, p1 k1 on alt rows)

Adult Flower Slippers

Classic Baby Booties

Earflap Hat and Baby Booties

Mini Knitted Sweater Garland

These little sweaters made an appearance on my blog last Christmas, you can find the link to the pattern through my posting here.

Knitted Dog Vest

Classic Baby Hat and Booties

Baby Carseat Blanket

This pattern is for a carseat blanket; the hole is to put the buckle through. I feel like I need to put a picture with the blanket because it is often mistaken for a baby poncho. This was given to my sister-in-law, who had a baby girl just 2 weeks ago! The baby shower post is here.

Charger Wall Pocket

As you may know, I recently bought my very own sewing machine, and have been sewing up a storm! I have gotten most of my patterns on Pinterest (best website ever btw), which are usually really good and include links to tutorials. Every once and a while there will be something that I am dying to make that is just pictures and no instructions, so I have to figure it out using my crafty ways. This is one of those projects! The instructions were in Swedish, so I just made up my own way to do it. This is my first sewing tutorial, so bear with me! I am a beginner sewer by every definition, so if you think of a better way to do this, then feel free. Here is the original link, in case anybody out there reads Swedish :)

I love my charger wall pocket, and use it to store my cell phone charger when I'm not using it. You could easily change the measurements to make it bigger/smaller to fit your electronics.

What You Need:
- 2 pieces of fabric approximately 5 1/2" x 11"
- 1 piece of cotton batting approximately 5 1/2" x 11"
- sewing machine/needles and thread
- pins

Instructions:
1) Cut out the fabric and batting to measure 5 1/2" x 11"

2) Cut out a square in the top of the fabric and batting pieces approximately 2" x 2 1/2" about 1" from the edges at the top.

3) Pin the 3 pieces together with right sides of fabric facing each other, and cotton batting on the bottom.

4) Sew along the 4 outside edges using a 1/4" seam allowance.

5) Flip the whole thing right side out through the rectangle hole.

6) Turn in the fabric along the edges of the rectangle hole, pin together and sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. You may find it easier to make a diagonal cut into the fabric at each corner so it lays flatter.

7) Fold up the bottom of the rectangle to make the pocket, pin into place, and sew along the two side edges.

To use, hold the pocket against the outlet, plug your charger into the wall through the pocket, and put your phone, ipod, etc. and the cord in the pocket.

Pinterest vs Reality: Charger Wall Pocket