knit & crochet pattern ideas for easter and spring

I don't know when it happened, but I blinked and it was suddenly a week before Easter.  Back in February, I had all these grand plans to crochet little baskets as favors for our annual family dinner.  Guess what didn't happen in a timely fashion?

In case anyone else is in a similar bind, I've scoured Etsy to find some amazingly adorable knit and crochet patterns for Easter and Spring.  Be excited becaues many of them are on sale since the holiday is quickly approaching.  I know I'll be purchasing a few of these to make my favors :)

Easter eggs & baby ... bysol $5.00	EASTER SALE Bunny ... mutts $1.00	NEW PATTERN - Easte... FashionPattern... $7.50	Crochet Pattern Eas... HeloiseV $3.75
Crochet PATTERN PDF... fairtradefamil... $2.00	Easter Egg Chick Cr... bearsy43 $2.25	Easter Bunny CROCHE... cutecrochetsho... $4.99	Crochet Easter Bunn... AndreaLBaker $5.00
EASTER EGG Knitting... FreshEggsDaily $5.00	Easter Bunnys Famil... deniza17 $3.00	knitting pattern fo... Littlecottonra... $2.25	Marshmallow Peep Mi... dramallamayarn $5.00
Candytuft - toy bun... toyshelf $3.95	Knitting Pattern On... PhylPhil $5.50	Bunny Knitting Patt... GandGPatterns $4.00	Loopy the Sheep flu... fluffandfuzz $3.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

Happy yarning!

spring themed crochet zig-zag hat

Good morning, all!  Today, I'm sharing with you some photos of a spring-themed hat I crocheted recently for a giveaway.  The recipient requested purples and greens, and this is what I came up with:

The yarn I used was Caron Simply Soft.  I have to admit I wasn't so keen on the color combo I chose at first, but it eventually grew on me.  And with all the spring-like weather we had been having (keywords being "had been" - it is frigid out there today), this really got me in the mood for Easter.

Speaking of Easter, one of the ladies who purchased my pattern had mentioned she'd be using it to make Easter egg hats for her kids.  How cute would those be?  I may have to make one for myself :)

If you'd like to crochet your very own wavy zig-zag beanie, then you can purchase my pattern for it on Ravelry!  Click here.

Thanks for dropping in, and I hope you're all having a great week so far.  It's almost Hump Day - woo!

yarn haul - noro silk garden and plymouth yarn baby alpaca lace

Yay - it's Friday!  Couldn't come soon enough, if you ask me.  Except it also came way too fast at the same time.  Yeesh.

Before I go into my lovely and exciting yarn hall, I just wanted to remind everyone that this is the last weekend to vote for my blog in The Morning Call's "My Choice Voice" - Best Blogs of the Lehigh Valley.  If you enjoy my updates, please go over there and vote today.  I'd really appreciate it :)

Moving on, those of you who follow my page on Facebook will know that Hubby got me a gift card to our LYS - The Knitter's Edge.  They've been around for a couple years, but I hadn't gotten my little tushie over there yet to check them out.  Hubby, being supportive of my hobby and business, finally pushed me out of the house to run an errand for myself.

So, what did I get?

Well, I got four balls of Noro Silk Garden, which I've always wanted to try.  I'd worked with Noro Kureyon and loved it despite its rough texture, so I wanted to try the supposedly smoother textures of Silk Garden.  Plus, I'm not sure if you're a real knitter if you've never touched the stuff (okay, I'm only somewhat joking because it seriously seems like all knitters have a thing for molesting Silk Garden).  I'll be making this really easy but beautiful scarf with it (you can see what I've done so far in the picture above).

I also picked up some Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Lace to make this shawl.  It'll be my first one ever, and I'm not really sure how I feel about making a shawl to begin with.  I'm not sure if I'd ever wear it for its original intent, but I do like the idea of wearing it like a bulky scarf.  I'm also incredibly intimidated by the lace - but when has intimidation ever stopped me?

That's all for today!  I'm really excited to work on these projects in the coming weeks.  My classes will be over and I'm only taking one class next semester, so I'm looking forward to a wee bit of more time to dedicate to things I really enjoy.

Let me know what your weekend plans are in the comments.  I'll be working on three custom orders in between writing my final papers, and they're awesome orders.  Posts on those will follow next week :D  Have a fantastic weekend!  And for all my fellow Hunger Games fans, may the odds be ever in your favor.

finished weekend project - crochet hat

Good morning, everyone!  Today, I wanted to show you a hat I improvised over the weekend.  I'm calling it "The World's Longest Extended Single Crochet Ever":

I'm in the last two weeks of school for this semester, so I've been stressing out over two very large papers, presentations, and you get the drift.  On Sunday, I just wanted to take a break and work on something quick that I could enjoy, but not something mindless enough to get bored of.

I went to my massive pattern library that rarely gets touched and picked up my Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs: 500 Classic and Original Patterns for inspiration.  A specific stitch caught my eye, but it's worked back-and-forth.  I altered it to be worked in the round, then added a super long extended crochet between the shells.  I think it came out sort of interesting.

The next time I make one of these, I'll probably add another pattern row for length and maybe another round or two of the edge.  Otherwise, it's kinda cute and I may write up the pattern for working it in the round and adding the extra design elements.

Hope you're all having a great week!

free crochet pattern: really easy slouchy beanie

It's here!  The long-awaited written pattern for my slouchy hat has finally arrived on my blog!

Shown in Red Heart Shimmer - Purple

  This super simple slouch hat is perfect for beginners looking to play with some basic shaping and textures, but it's also fun for the intermediate crocheter who wants to whip up something quick and cute.

Shown in Red Heart Soft - Cherry Red

Supplies:
Medium/Worsted Weight yarn (see "Notes" below for details)
US H8/5.00mm
US G6/4.00mm
Tapestry needle (for weaving in ends)

Gauge
I will be adding my specific gauge shortly.

The gauge for the Red Heart Shimmer (shown in the purple hat photo above) is 16sc x 20r = 4in/10cm using an H8/5.00mm crochet hook. 

The gauge for Red Heart Soft (shown in the red hat photo above) is 12sc x 15r = 4in(10cm) using an I9/5.5mm hook.

The gauge for Vanna's Choice (shown in the grey hat photo below) is 12 sc + 15 rows = 4" (10 cm) on size J-10 (6 mm) hook.

Notes
Q: What if the hat is coming out too big?

A:  This could be for a couple of reasons, but first make sure that you are working to the correct gauge.  Some people naturally crochet looser than others; I'm one of the lucky few who crochets so tightly that you can barely see between the stitches (and this is why I will one day have severe arthritis/carpal tunnel).

Second, the yarns I chose for my prototypes are borderline DK weight.  If you are substituting Red Heart Super Saver, I would recommend removing one of the increase rounds and some of the work-even rounds to obtain a better fit.

Finally, the hat naturally appears very large until the last few rounds where you switch to a smaller hook and work a tighter stitch.  This change fits the hat to your head while allowing for some slouch in the back without having to think about decreases toward the end.  I love not having to count things :)


Instructions (read the pattern below or click here to download the PDF from Craftsy!):
Begin with magic loop (click here to watch a how-to video).

• Row 1: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), 11 DCs in ring; join to top of ch 2 and pull loop tight (12 sts)
• Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), DC in same st, *2 DCs in next st* around; join (24 sts)
• Row 3: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), DC in next st, 2 DCs in next st, *DC in next 2 sts, 2 DCs in next st* around; join (32 sts)
• Row 4: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), 2 DCs in next st, *DC in next 3 sts, 2 DCs in next st* around; join (40 sts)
• Row 5: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), 2 DCs in next st, *DC in next 4 sts, 2 DCs in next st* around; join (48 sts)
• Row 6: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), 2 DCs in next st, *DC in next 5 sts, 2 DCs in next st* around; join (56 sts)
• Row 7: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), 2 DCs in next st, *DC in next 6 sts, 2 DCs in next st* around; join (64 sts)
• Row 8: Ch 2 (counts as first DC), 2 DCs in next st, *DC in next 7 sts, 2 DCs in next st* around; join (72 sts)
• Row 9: Ch 2, *DCin each st aroud*, join;
• Rows 10-28: Repeat Row 9 for 19 rows; join
• Row 29: .Switch to smaller hook, ch 1, *in back loop only, sc in each st around*; join
• Rows 30-34: Repeat Row 29

Fasten off.

Shown in Vanna's Choice - Silver Grey

I hope you all enjoy this pattern!  If you have any photos, definitely post them on Ravelry because I'd love to see everything you make :)  Thanks for taking the time to drop by and check it out!

For more knit and crochet patterns, make sure to visit my Patterns page!

jack skellington crochet hat

Hi, everyone!  It's time to post some photos of another small project I completed during my unplanned break from the Internet.

Here's a Jack Skellington hat I crocheted for a swap I participated in:

I was worried that she and her daughter wouldn't like it because it's so off-the-wall, but I enjoyed making it.  And I'm happy to report that they love it!

The Jack Skellington hat is just a simple crocheted beanie.  I did the top rounds in white, then outlined it with a round of black in the front loop only.  On the next round, I worked into the back loops of the white round.  The rest of the beanie is worked normally and would look great with or without a face :)

I have to admit that another reason I hadn't posted photos is because my swap partner didn't receive them until recently and I didn't want to spoil the surprise!

Hope you're all having a great week.  I don't know about you, but I'm happy that it's already Hump Day.

crochet houndstooth clutch

Goooooooood morning!  And a happy Monday to you!

You may be asking yourself: why on earth are you so happy on a Monday?  Well, I'm refreshed after my first weekend in months where I didn't have anywhere to go.  Last weekend, I returned from a working vacation in Las Vegas where I got to see some friends I don't get to see often - and I even went to the TITANIC Exhibition at the Luxor, which was amazing.  If you don't know me outside of this blog, then you probably wouldn't know I've been obsessed with TITANIC since long before the movie came out, so I was pumped about going there.

But overall, I'm in a much happier mood than I was before I left.  Partly because school work is dying down, even though we're at the end.  There's just a lot less reading to do and more actual "doing" of things - thank goodness!  It was nice to get away from everything for a week and re-evaluate what's going on in my life.  And decide that I need to take a deep breath and stop taking on so much.

That said, I'm back in the land of fiber arts, so here I am to show you some projects I never had a chance to blog about.

Here we have a little clutch I made for my oma's birthday:

It's a houndstooth pattern created by alterning single- and double-crochets and changing colors every row.  Add a nice round of crab stitch for the border and a cute little button and voila - instant cuteness.

I recently signed up to make video tutorials for AllFreeCrochet.com, so I think this is going to be my first video for them.  I'm in the process of typing up a pattern, and it will be Mother's Day themed.  So everyone get your crochet hooks and some spring-colored yarn to make your mom this adorable little clutch!