Holiday Season

Hello. :)


It's been quite a long time since I've been around here... Honestly I hadn't been doing much crocheting. Started learning to sew a bit which is super fun! But now that the craft season is upon us I'm going to be sharing my progress. I'm going to be in a craft fair for the first time in December and right now I'm working on making teddy bears similar to the winter bear i made last September. Here are a few pictures and descriptions:




Say hello to Cocoa! Christmas is his favorite time of year because it's when he can share the drink of his namesake with his best friend Marshmallow! Together they make the perfect pair.






Say hello to Marshmallow! She adds that special something to any occasion and according to Cocoa, he wouldn't be the same without her, his best friend!






Say hello to Peppermint! This spicy girl is the sweeter half of the mint twins. Her and her brother Spearmint love everything about Christmas and make life festive where ever they go!






Say hello to Spearmint! Strong and soft at the same time; Spearmint is the twin brother to Peppermint. He loves to spread Christmas cheer with is sister all season long!




So there ya go! I'm hoping to make 24 of these guys in time for the fair, along with some other crafty things. A few of those other things will also be crocheted so I'll add those here when I get around to making them... In the mean time, Happy Halloween!

-merely

Fisherman's Ring Walkthrough

Hello everybody, it's been a while... I've had a request to go through the steps for the motif called The Fisherman's Ring, so that's what I've got today. I had made one of these before I started this blog and so my previous post only has the finished pictures. I remember that back when I originally made this that the pattern was confusing and weird and after going through it again, I have a couple alterations, so let's get started!



This is the starter chain, easy enough.



Ok, so here was the first change I made. I followed the instructions and kept coming up short, so instead of chaining 3 and the doing 15 double crochets, I only did 13. I'm not sure why that worked, because the math doesn't really make sense, but what can I say? If you're having trouble, just give this a try.











The last five pictures are all from round two. The first two show you how it starts, and the third and fourth are pictures of the last cable and how to finish it off. You have to go in front of the first cable. And the last picture is what it looks like finished.



On the third round it tells you to single crochet at the base of the next cable, in this picture you can see three spaces between the chain and my finger, the base is the middle one (I think, at least that's where I sc'd on mine).



Finished front.



Finished back.

Round four, you should be at 40 stitches around at this point.

Finished round five; the only thing I want to say about this is that I skipped a stitch on the last cable. you could do one stitch less on the round before, but I didn't want to go back again. I think it still looks ok. :)



Round six.



This is a close up of the end of round six for anyone that might find the instructions confusing. Instead of chaining five you chain two and do a double crochet where you would normally put the slip stitch.



Round seven, pretty simple.



And finally, round eight! Also, pretty simple.

There you have it! If there's still any confusion, please feel free to ask. I would love to help with anything I can. This is a very lovely motif/square but I must say it's a bit of a pain. I really don't like crocheting into chains, it's so tedious. I love crocheting into chain spaces but that's different. Good luck!

-merely

R2D2 Beanie

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted. Let's call it a mourning period... I'm not 100% yet, but I feel spirited enough to start my blog back up. I'm going to try something new this month, seeing as it's now December. I think most crafters would agree that this time of year is by far the busiest. Firstly because of all the gifts you want to make for friends and family (that you should have started much earlier). And secondly because of all the requests to make things from friends and family for them to give others. So this month I will be posting as things are finished and I'm starting with this R2D2 beanie!





This was a request from a friend's boyfriend's mother for an 8 year old nephew. It was my first time making such a detailed beanie but I think it turned out pretty great. Of course, I love Star Wars so I'm already jealous of this kid. Maybe after Christmas I can make one for myself!

The pattern which I based this on can be found here. I strayed a little from the directions, but they're a little loose anyway.

Have a very crafty holiday season! I hope to be posting again soon!

-merely

RIP Squishy

sorry i haven't been posting. i buried my cat today... haven't felt much like doing anything. she was going to be 13 next week. she was with me for half my life. i ache thinking of her in the cold ground. it was a rough battle with lymphoma cancer to which she succumbed gracefully. she was the sweetest kitty i've ever known. loving without being needy, playful without being mean, cute and beautiful at the same time. she loved to cuddle and always blessed me when i sneezed (seriously, she'd meow every time). she was with me through the hardest times in my life. she was with me as i struggled through high school. she was with me when i moved away from home for the first time. she was with me when i first picked up a crochet hook (and yarn was her favorite toy ever since). she was definitely the most important thing in my life and i wish there had been more i could have done for her...



Rest in peace, Boston. I love you forever.

No-tif Monday

I was working on my motif for today and I totally failed. Some how I ended up with too many loops! I'm not sure if it was me or the pattern or what, but I'll deal with it tomorrow. I'll either be fixing it or doing a completely new one... we'll see.

I would have tried harder today, but I think I caught a cold from my dad... bleh...

-merely