Crocheted Retro Ornament Throw

Hi Crafty Friends!

Long time no see. I'm so sorry about my prolonged silence. I'm back to work, but our schedule is very different with Amy in high school now. I have to drive her to and from school. It's not bad, but it takes up time. She's loving high school so far. She is in marching band and played in her first football game a couple of weeks ago. The band sounded really good, but I might be a little biased. All that to say that my crafty time is limited. I don't do well stamping at night, so that doesn't help, either. 

Anyway, I have managed to work on some projects. I'm sharing a crochet project called a Retro Ornament Throw. It's a free pattern from Red Heart. The gal who wrote the pattern took the time to create some videos to show how to make the ornaments and then the strips and finally the finishing. Those were very helpful.  I just finished this project this afternoon. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. It is a gift for a friend who recently redecorated her home in a retro theme. 

I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn to make the project. What I really like about this yarn is there in no dye lot, so if you need to get more yarn you don't have to worry about it not matching up. And I did need to buy more soft white. I think that is the only mistake in the pattern. The pattern said 2 skeins of the soft white and I needed a little over three. I also had to substitute a color. The pattern called for a coral color, but it's been discontinued. I chose to use baby pink instead. 

That's it from me for now. I thank you so very much for stopping by. I will be posting a couple of cards in my next post. I just thought to keep them separated from the crochet project. 

Aloysius the Owlet (or maybe the penguin...)

Hi there!

Back again. I know feast or famine, right? Two posts in one day. If you didn't see my other one about the crochet-a-long I'm trying you can check it out here. This one is about a crochet project as well. Sorry, no cards...yet.

Back when I found the Happypotomus pattern from HeidiBears, I also saw a pattern for Aloysius. He is an owlet. A pretty dang cute owlet. I tried reallllllly hard to resist buying the pattern. But(hangs head)...I caved. Every time I thought about it, I'd hear it calling to me...you know you want to download me and make me. Not in a creepy way, mind you. Okay. What really struck me was the wings on the doll. I thought they were so neat looking. So, anyway, I had a certain someone who came to my mind when I looked at the pattern, too. I've crocheted it, boxed it up and sent him to his new home, where I'm sure he is going to be very happy.

I've developed a pretty neat friendship with a gal named Kay over the past couple of years. I've talked about her before on this blog. If you haven't been to her blog, My Joyful Moments, you should seriously take a peek. Oh and plan to stay a bit as you meander around and take in all the eye candy. This gal has got some serious card making talent. She is also a fabulous polymer clay designer as well. She has an Etsy shop where she sells the clay ornaments that she makes. But you know what? They sell out in minutes. That's how fantastic her ornaments are. I mean, I don't even get to see them posted, they are gone before I can get to the shop. As I said, we've developed a pretty special (to me) friendship and she is the one who immediately came to mind when I saw Aloysius. I'm not sure why, as I have other friends who like owls too, but I felt a strong urge to create him for her and so I did. He's in his new home now and so I felt like I could share.

The penguin part comes in because he sort of also looks like a penguin. It could be because I didn't stuff him all that well. Oh well. Owlet, penguin, I think he's cute either way. :)

Enough talk....here he is!

I really liked the look of the wings as a solid color, but what really drew me in was the scallop on the wings. Gah! So darn sweet!

Now I ask you, could you have resisted this face?

So, now you see I've been a little busy creating. But I couldn't really share until it was all done. 

Thanks ever so much for stopping by.

Hope you have a great week!

Hugs,

Jeanne

PS Kay, I hope I didn't embarrass you. I'm just get so happy when I see what you create and I want to share it with others. 

Happypotamus!

 Hi there!

I've been a busy little bee since I last posted. I have been working on a new project. I had shown my co-workers photos of the giraffe I crocheted for Amy last year. My assistant manager has two daughters. When she saw the giraffe, she told me her younger daughter loves hippos. She mentioned she knew her daughter would love a hippo version of the giraffe. I knew then I would try to make it for her daughter as a surprise as kind of a thank you to my asst. manager for how kind she has been to me since I started working in the kitchen. I had wanted to make it time for Christmas, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen! So, I started a couple of weeks ago and just finished Happy a little while ago. My assistant manager also said blue was her daughter's favorite color which is why she/he is mostly blue. I found the pattern here. In case the link doesn't work, it's on Ravelry and also in her Etsy shop as well as on Craftsy. Here is the link to her blog. It will always have the direct links, I'm thinking. So, here is my version of Happypotomus. Enjoy!

That is a cute face, right?

Well, hello there!

Oh my, the rump looks a little big from this angle. Sorry! I do think it is a cute shape, too. 

This is the belly side.

Such a cute face!

The doll is crocheted with size 10 cotton thread-Aunt Lydia brand. I used a size 7(1.65mm)crochet hook. It is stuffed with polyester fiberfill. The eyes are 12mm safety eyes. I didn't use the backs to attach them. I used the small holes in the ends of the shaft and the directions in the pattern to attach them. 

I got a lot of this done last weekend during the football playoff games. Bummed that the Broncos didn't pull out a win, but happy to have been able to accomplish so much of the project! 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

*Ü*

Jeanne