Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Different Kind of Project

Years ago I crocheted lots of amigurumi projects. It's been a long time, but I decided to make a couple of super cute bunnies for Linda, my friend who received the blue basket.


This is JellyBean the Bunny. Isn't he cute?


And this is Peeps. I'm making both. Of course, these are not my photos or my patterns. My bunnies are not finished yet. I love how these are designed, with the facial features having lots of detail. 

The designer, FiberDoodles by K4TT can be found on Etsy. The patterns are easy to follow and understand. 

I also love Layla the Lovebug. I may have to purchase it and make it as well.


I've been hiding the bunnies from Ireland. I know she'll think they are for her. She gets jealous when I tell her that I crochet for other people:D  I may have to make one for her anyway.

I should have these bunnies finished in about 3 weeks. 

These projects are definitely a change from my recent projects, but that's what makes them so much fun. It has been a long time since I crocheted anything other than clothing or baskets.

I'm also working on several hats and my very neglected Ripple. Oh yeah....and still reading The Help. I'll have a busy weekend of crocheting and reading.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Your Ombre Love

I thought I would share some photos of a few baskets that were inspired by the Ombre basket. The lovely Genevieve at Pretty Wit and The Three Spinsters, sent me an email with a link to her version of the Ombre basket. Isn't it beautiful?



Thank you Genevieve for sharing your basket. 

I just love getting emails and messages with photos of your creations. 

Here are a few more baskets inspired by Ombre Love

               

I love all of the color combos. 








I just love all of these. It motivates me to make more in different colors:)

Thanks so much for sharing with me so I could share them with everyone. Please feel free to send me links to your projects. I would love to blog about them.

Hope you all are having a great week!


Sunday, June 10, 2012

Still Trying to Customize Hat Sizes



Yes, I'm still trying to customize hat sizes. Over the last few months, I've gotten numerous comments and questions about hats sizes. Considering we all crochet with different tensions/ gauges, it's impossible to give definite numbers of stitches. The charts are great but they do not tell us when to stop increasing. This has always been my problem with gifts. If I make something for Ireland, I'll just put it on her head and see how it fits and then adjust from there. But when you have to make a gift, it's tough to guess.


I've decided to get all of Ireland's hats that I've made for her since birth to use for my experiment. I have compared the hats to photos of her wearing them. I've looked at the dates to determine how old she was when wearing. This is how I've measured for sizes.

This is a general chart, but still pretty helpful...Better than nothing. The measurements listed in the chart represent the size of the circle you should have when increasing. When you reach the desired size then stop increasing and just crochet evenly thereafter.


Age                                    Diameter of circle

Newborn                                      4 inches

3-6 months                                   5.5 inches

9-12 months                                 6-6.5 inches

24 months                                    6.5-6.75 inches

Toddler and small child                  7 inches

Adult woman                                7.25-7.5 inches

For instance if you are making a hat for a 12 month old... increase until you have a circle that measures 6-6.5 inches across, then continue to crochet each round evenly with no increases.

The hat in the photo above will be for a child about a year old. So as you can see the circle measures right at 6 inches.

The finished length will also vary according to age



Age                                          Finished Length

Newborn                                       5 inches

3-6 months                                    6-6.5 inches

9-12 months                                  7 inches

24 months                                     7-7.5 inches

Toddler and small child               7.5- 8 inches

Adult woman                                8.5-9 inches

Large adult                                    10 inches

The blue hat above will be for a 12 month old, so I'll need to keep crocheting for a couple more inches.

This green hat is for a teen or adult woman, so I'll stop at about 9 inches.

Edit: If you are making an ear flap hat, then the length will decrease slightly.



Of course these measurements are not exact for each child and adult. I have made hats for large adult women heads that measure more than 10 inches in length. These are general measurements intended to offer a little bit of help, instead of trying to make a hat blindly without a clue:D

I hope this helps.

Have a great week!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

The Winner of the May Giveaway

Today has been a very un-productive day for me. I did make it out to Target (which is something considering it's 45 minutes from home), but started feeling terrible before I got home. I've been on the couch all day with a sore throat and cold, achy body. I guess it's the perfect time to catch up on blog reading and choose the winner for May's giveaway.


This purple basket is the prize. Thanks to everyone for your nice comments. Now, without further a-do (or however that phrase goes)...the winner is

commenter 62

Jane AKA Trouble :D

Congrats Jane. Please send me your address and I'll get this in the mail on Monday.

Again, thanks to all for your comments:)

Have a great weekend!