Samantha, a crocheted bear

I absolutely love to crochet toys. I think most of my crafting life I have been making more toys with yarn than making blankets or clothing. Often we associate crochet with afghans and hats or sweaters, but I don’t have the patience to finish a project that large most of the time. I apparently have a small attention span. 😆

 I am super excited to share a sneak peek at a new crochet pattern I am creating! :) I plan on posting the pattern up on my Etsy shop as soon as I have it ready. I actually am planning on doing a series to animal character patterns so Samantha can have some friends! :) I am so excited. Stay tuned for more Crochet toys and patterns. Don’t worry I’ll keep you in the loop.

getting ready for baby

I have been crocheting up a storm over here, mostly making baby clothes. I am still working on perfecting the patterns and will for sure be letting you know when they are available! :)  Baby Girl's birthday is coming up quickly and we are trying to get all our ducks in a row in preparation. March 11th is the due date, but at my last appointment she was breech. The Dr. said we may induce labor early, after turning baby head down, so we can get her out without resorting to a C-section. A C-section sounds kinda scary since I have never had surgery in my life. Hopefully all will turn out as planned or better! :)
Another thing we have been doing over here in preparation for baby's arrival is building a triple bunk bed in the kid's room! Our 2-yr-old is still sleeping in our room in the crib and he needed a new place to sleep. The new bunk bed is pretty much finished except for a few accents and paint. Because the bed is located where the closet was we are in desperate need of new toy and clothes storage! I am trying to figure out a nice way to arrange the room so it feels effortless but well-styled. I need to be innovative and creative since I want to do all the storage on a super small budget. I'll share before and after photos as soon as it isn't a huge mess in there.

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In love with the cowl scarf

I have been on a knitting and crocheting kick these past few weeks. I have especially been in love with making cowl scarves. I made one for my sister Mer, and I also made one for my little sister. I didn't stop there either, my daughter has one and so do I! :) I have a few available on my Etsy shop right now if you want one, and If you want one in a different color just let me know and I'll be sure and make one to order just for you!

I am planning on selling patterns as well as finished products so if you knit or crochet be sure an check back soon. In fact, I just finished a new scarf I made as a knitting pattern prototype and I really like how it turned out! It is long, really stretchy, and can be worn three ways. I'll be sure and let you know when the pattern is ready and in my Little Lola's shop. For some reason you can't tell I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant in these photos and I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. hmm.

stuff in the shop

I just recently added some still life prints and crocheted items to my Etsy shop Little Lolas. I plan on adding some crochet patterns as well. I am super excited because I am working on crocheted toy patterns and I can't wait to share them when they are finished!

yummy yarn

 

I mentioned earlier this week that my mom sent me a huge box of yarn. It really was enormous! These 2 photos show approximately one 6th of all the yarn in that package! I am so excited to get started on some projects for the baby! :) I have plans for a granny square blanket and some baby layettes. The bright colored yarns are sure to become little crocheted dolls and toys eventually. I am so excited! once I finish a few I'll be sure and share the finished projects. :)

a simple gift

I made my sister Mer a crocheted circle cowl scarf for christmas and my little sis saw it and begged me to make one for her too. She picked out the yarn she wanted and mailed it to me the other day. I made it a  little different than Merrilee's (which I never did get a photo of). This one is made with a shell stitch and Merrilee's is a basic double crochet. I am mailing it off asap so be sure to check the mail in a few days little sis. :)

knight costume

I finished the knight costume and I have to say it turned out awesome!! Alex loves it! I cut the tunic out of fleece and did a freezer paper stencil of a similar dragon to the one they have in the Narnia movies. I used masking tape as a stencil for the gold border. As you already know I crocheted the "chain-mail" hood & you can find the pattern I made right here. Later I crocheted tubes so he could have chain-mail on his arms also. After seeing this tutorial, I made craft foam armor for his arms, legs, and shoulders. I used silver spray paint but probably would use regular craft paint next time because the spray paint rubs off easily. He absolutely loves it, can you tell? :)

Free pattern: Crochet knight hood

As promised I am giving the instructions on how to crochet the knight hood / hat I posted about last week. (he was so proud of his dog picture and having him hold it was the only way he would pose for a photo :) he said "it looks just like a  real dog!") 

Check out his full finished knight ccostume here

Yarn: Red heart worsted 4

Hook: USK 10.5 / 6.5mm

Here is a key for all the abbreviations I use.

dc = double crochet

ch = chain

sl st = slip stitch

rep = repeat

sk = skip

beg = beginning

rnd = round

Ch 4, join with a sl st to form a ring.

Rnd 1: ch 2 for first dc, 12 dc in ring, sl st to top of beg ch. 

(13 stitches counting the ch 2.)

Rnd 2: ch 2 for first dc, 2 dc into every dc, sl st to top of beg ch. 

Rnd 3: ch 2 for first dc, 3 dc into every other dc, sl st to top of beg ch.

Rnd 4: ch 2 for first dc, dc in 1 dc, *2 dc in 1 dc, dc in next 2 dc, rep from *, sl st to top of beg ch. 

Rnd 5: ch 2 for first dc, dc in each dc, sl st to top of beg ch. 

Repeat rnd 5 nine more times (or till edge of hat reaches eyebrows)

(Now you are going to make the face opening by only stitching the back and sides.)

Row A: ch 2 for first dc, dc in each dc for 35 stitches, (flip work around to start next row on top of the stitches you just finished).

Repeat row A five more times back and forth with 36 stitches each row counting the ch2.

At the end of the 5th row don't ch2 and flip work around. Ch 18 & sl st to top of beg ch to begin stitching in rounds again and create the collar.

Collar rnd 1: ch 2 for first dc, dc in each dc and all 18 ch st, sl st to top of beg ch.

Collar rnd 3: repeat collar rnd 1

Collar rnd 4: repeat collar rnd 1

Collar rnd 5: repeat collar rnd 1

Collar rnd 6: ch 2 for first dc, dc in 1 dc, *2 dc in 1 dc, dc in next 2 dc, rep from *, sl st to top of beg ch. 

Repeat rnd 6 three more times, fasten off and thread extra yarn into the hat. 

You're done!

Let me know if you have any questions. :) I'll be posting the full finished costumes soon!

making costumes

 I have been having more fun making costumes this year than any other year for sure! My oldest son is being a knight and my daughter is being a flower fairy.  When my son said he wanted to be a knight I knew right a way that I wanted crochet some chain-mail armor. The pattern I made is simple and if I don't procrastinate I'll post the pattern here on my blog before Halloween. When my daughter said she wanted to be a fairy I was super excited! I LOVE fairies! She showed me this fairy from our fairy book illustrated by Cicely Mary Barker and I was smitten! I changed the leaf hat to a flower wreath / crown because I knew it would be fun to make it out of glittered felt flowers. I used my flower tutorial as well as some other tutorials like this one, and this one, and i made up some new little ones for more variety.
There is so much more to the two costumes than the head pieces but I'll share it all after I'm finished with everything.