In the beginning... the evolvement of me..

I thought myself a year ago how to crochet. I used Youtube. I used the US terms for crochet to teach myself. Started with really simple patterns and just hooked all day. My first pattern I tried was an Angry Bird Hat pattern from Crochetgeek. 

My boy loved it and I was really pleased with myself! Made a few more hats, worked out a standard hat pattern that worked for me, added ear flaps, started to experiment with different stitches, etc. My work evolved. So I'm happily working away, designing new hats, experimenting with shapes, figuring out what has the best results. But now that my patterns are getting attention from other crocheters and the fact that I'm Dutch, I get a lot of requests to translate my patterns in Dutch. I was a bit reluctant, and for a good reason!

I just finished translating my first pattern in Dutch, the arm warmers Lacey Butterfly. And to be honest, the Dutch sounds/reads/works awful! It has so many more words to describe stitches. It's just not pretty... I like my rows neat and clear, but in Dutch it's a mess. Or maybe it's my crochetDutch that is a mess. I don't know?? I normally don't work Dutch patterns, because I have no clue what they mean (I should try it now, because I learned a few CrochetDutch words).

So you can get the Dutch version of Arm Warmers Lacey Butterfly here.

Please, Dutch Crocheters, let me know what you think of it. I would love comments and feedback. 

xoxoxo

Patricia

Fishy fishy...

Instead of doing a bit of work today, I went to the shop and got stuff for our aquarium. Yes we are now the proud owner of a tank with water and 2 plants. We can't put any fish in there for at least 2 weeks, this is for the bacteria and the water to settle(???). I have no clue, but I'm willing to listen to the people who know about this stuff. So my day was spent, boiling the little stones for ground cover, to get rid of harmful bacteria.

The kids ran in the house expecting to see fishies. I didn't know how to explain it, so I just told them the fishies weren't born yet. And in 2 weeks time we're able to pick them up.

It's not really a good picture, but you get the idea.

I was working on a hat for myself and I was almost done, but not happy with it. So I started drawing, calculating and banging my head on the table repeatedly, but I think I have the answer now. I want a pop corn stitch beret. But with berets, the problem is in the circle. How do you get the round curve of the beret? It will always be with corners (in my case 6 corners) where the increases are. And there are numerous ways to do it I guess, but I wanted to solve the problem myself. So I think I have it now... working on Row 4, so it can go anywhere still. But so far it looks good!

With the hat, I want make a scarf, arm warmers, mittens and boot cuffs (or maybe legwarmers). But the thing is, I don't have that yarn any more and I bought it last year. So no way in h*ll am I going to get that same color back again. So I will make the hat in this color and the set in a different color! Here's a preview:

If you have a way of making the perfect circle and you would like to share it, please leave me a comment! I'll bet you I'm doing it the hard way and there is a really simple answer to this!

Update: This hat is driving me nuts!!!!

xoxoxo Patricia

Hat Season Kick off! SALE! Yay! SALE!!!!

To kick off Crochet Hat Season, I'm offering 50 - 75 % discount on selected Hat Patterns on Etsy and Ravelry!

Visit my shops and get those heads covered for winter!

Working on...

to write down the pattern for this little hat in all sizes:

It's a cute hat, with a bit of a bonnet taste to it.
Not sure if I'll repeat the owl. Maybe stick with the tree branches or switch to something else like little daisies? or other flowers?

It will be a double hat, so very cozy and warm for winter. And I'll probably make a set, with arm warmers, mittens, a scarf and a little bag to put it all in for school.

Wheels are still turning in my head. I'll get the base done first and then we'll see..

I'll update as I go along!

Minion Mania!

As mentioned before, my kids fell in love with the Minions after watching Despicable Me 2.
And to be honest, I did as well, they are just too cute and I want a couple of them running around the house! Life would be so much easier, wouldn't it?

So I made a little Minion. The kids were fighting over it... so I made another one, Minion 2.0. But then I had to make another one, a bigger one.. Minion XL

So I have 3 Minions flying around the house!

So here's the pattern. You can download a printer friendlier version here!

Minion amigurumi 

Supplies:

Hook Needle 2.5mm

Coton, I used Phildar Coton 3, in colors Yellow, Blue, Black, White, Silver Grey

Yarn Needle

Stuffing

Body

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This pattern is for the small Minion at the left.

R1 Magic circle, CH1, 5SC in circle, SLST to first SC, Ch1, SC in same st, 2SC in each ST all around – 12st

R2 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next st, *2SC, SC in next st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 18st

R3 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next 2st, *2SC, SC in next 2st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 24st

R4 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next 3st, *2SC, SC in next 3st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 30st

R5 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next 4st, *2SC, SC in next 4st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 36st

(If you want to make the body bigger, add on rows with increases until happy, make sure you increase the number of Rounds, the amount of Blue and Yellow st as in R15, lengthen the arms, add rounds on the legs, etc!!!)

R6 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R7 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R8 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Switch to Black

R9 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R10 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Switch back to Yellow

R11 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R12 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R13 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R14 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Sow on Eye(s) on R9 and R10, Add Hair, Embroider on Mouth

Start with Blue

R15 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 4st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 10st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 4st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Start with Blue

R16 CH1, SC in next 4st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 10st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 5st, SLST to first SC - 36st

With Blue

R17 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 4 st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 30st

R18 CH1, SC in each st around, SLST to first SC - 30st

R19 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 3 st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 24st

         Sow on Arms and Overall Straps and Start stuffing

R20 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 2 st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 18st

Starting with legs, 

Left leg

R21 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 8st, CH3, SLST to first SC - 12st

R22 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 2st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

R23 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 8st, SLST to first SC - 9st

Switch to Black

R23 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 10st

R24 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC in next 2st, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 12st

R25 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

Start stuffing

R26, CH1, SCDEC all around, SC in last st, SLST to first SCDC - 5st

With Yarn needle fasten off and pull closed.

Right leg

SLST to the last SC of R20

R22 CH1, SCDEC, SC in next 2st along Chain from R21, *SCDEC, SC in next 2st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

R23 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 8st, SLST to first SC - 9st

Switch to Black

R23 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 10st

R24 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC in next 2st, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 12st

R25 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

Start stuffing

R26, CH1, SCDEC all around, SC in last st, SLST to first SCDC - 5st

With Yarn needle fasten off and pull closed.

Arms

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Make 2

R1 CH7, 

R2 SC in sec CH from hook (work in the loop on the back of the chain), SC in next 5st

R3 CH1, SLST using front loops of both CH R1 and ST R2 until end

R4 CH1, SLST on other side using back loops of both CH R1 and ST R2 until end

R5, CH1, 3SC on top of arm to start beginning of hand, turn

Switch to black

R6, CH1, SC in the same st, SC in next 2st, 

Finger 1: CH3, SC in sec CH from hook, SC in next, SLST in bottom SC, move on to next st

Finger 2: CH3, SC in sec CH from hook, SC in next, SLST in bottom SC, move on to next st

Finger 2: CH3, SC in sec CH from hook, SC in next, SLST in bottom SC, Fasten off and weave in.

Overall Straps

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CH8, leave long tails for sowing on body on both sides.

Eye(s)

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Start with White

MC, CH1, 5SC in circle, SLST to first SC- 6st (if you want bigger eyes, just add more SC in MC)

R1 Ch1, SC in same st, 2SC in each ST all around – 12st

R2 Ch1, SC in same st, SC in next st, *2SC, SC in next st* repeat from * all around, Fasten 

off to first SC with Invisible Join – 18st

Switch to Silver Grey

R3, SLST to R2 in front loop only. SC in each st around in front loop only, fasten off to first SC with Invisible Join - 18st

R4, SLST to R2 in back loop only. SC in each st around in front loop only, SLST to first SC - 18st

R5, CH1, SC in each st around - 18st

With Black, make 2:

MC, CH1, 5SC in circle, Invisible Join to first SC - 6ST

Sow on the white of the eyes

Hair

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Hair 1: On top of head in one place

With Black

Cut 8 lengths of 10 cm, Take 1 length, fold double and SLST around post in between R1 and R2, repeat with other lengths.

Cut 10 lengths of 15 cm, knot them together in a big knot and with hook needle pull all 10 lengths through the centre of the Magic Circle of Body

With yarn needle and yarn, wind yarn 4 times around all lengths at the base of the hair and pull tight, secure knot, and cut of lengths at desirable height, around 2 cm.

Hair 2: Random hair sticking out

Cut 18 lengths of 10 cm, Take 1 length, fold double and SLST randomly around post in between st, repeat with other lengths, cut of lengths at desirable height, around 2 cm.

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I hope you enjoy it!

xoxoxo Patricia

Lacey Butterfly - Arm Warmers - Free Pattern

Normally my Patterns are big, with loads of things to do. But I was in the mood for something small and easy. Something cool and girly.

Arm Warmers.. they are getting really popular now and I think they're fab!

I was also thinking of Aoibhinn in Autumn wearing her t-shirts. If she wears arm warmers, she can wear her favorite t-shirts all year long! So I started looking for a stitch to use. I wanted something nice. I was looking at the broomstick lace stitch. But that just buggered me. Too much and if you don't do it right it looks like a mess.

I've found this pin on Pinterest and loved it. So I tried it out, made some changes and my arm warmer was on the way.

It's from this site and it's in Russian.

I made a pair for myself and my little lady in an evening. It's easypease!

You can download a printable version here.

Supplies:

Yarn. Any yarn would do, just add a multiple of 5 to get to the desired length.

Hook needle. It depends on the yarn which needle to use.

Yarn needle, to weave in ends.

Size:

This is very easy to convert to different size.

The length:
The begin chain has to be a multiple of 5 plus 3 for the first DC.
For a child aged 2-3 you chain 30 plus 3
Child aged 4-6 you chain 40 plus 3
Child aged 6-10 you chain 50 plus 3
Child/teen aged 10-14 you chain 60 plus 3
Teen/adult you chain 70 plus 3
Adult you chain 80 plus 3

The width:
Is changeable by adding rows of DC after R5 and R13
For a child aged 2-3 you add 1 row of DC
Child aged 4-6 you add 2 row of DC
Child aged 6-10 you add 3 row of DC
Child/teen aged 10-14 you add 4 row of DC
Teen/adult you add 5 row of DC
Adult you add 6 row of DC
And the same amount on the other side

The thumb hole
For a child aged 2-3 you add the thumb hole in the DC Row after R5, start with 4DC and CH2.
Child aged 4-6 you add the thumb hole in the DC Row after R5, start with 5DC and CH3.
Child aged 6-10 you add the thumb hole in the second DC Row, R7, start with 6DC and CH3.
Child/teen aged 10-14 you add the thumb hole in the second DC Row, R7, start with 6DC and CH4.
Teen/adult you add the thumb hole in the third DC Row, R8, start with 8DC and CH4.
Adult you add the thumb hole in the third DC Row, R8, start with 8DC and CH4.

This is a guideline, the size of the hook you use and the yarn is also important, for this pattern I used yarn 10wpi and hook 5 for the pink arm warmers and for the blue green arm warmers I used yarn 12wpi and hook 3.5. 

And don't forget to switch sides of the thumb hole  So the second arm warmer has the DC row with thumb hole on the second part of the arm warmer.

I will follow the pattern the teen/adult.





 R1, CH73, in third CH from hook and the next 4CH after that, pull up a loop, (you have 6 loops on your hook now, 5 big loops and your normal loop), insert hook through all loops, YO, pull through first 5 loops and make a SC with your normal loop, 4SC through the same 5loops, *pull up loop in next 5CH, 5SC through the same 5loops*, repeat till the end. Turn. - 70

  

R2, *CH4, SLST in between DCclusters*, repeat till end, CH3 and turn. - 70

R3, *pull up loop in next 5CH from R2, 5SC through the same 5loops*, repeat till the end. Turn. - 70

R4, *CH4, SLST in between DCclusters*, repeat till end, CH3 and turn.

R5, *Dc2together, DC, DC2together* in each CH4Space till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

R6 and R7, DC in each st till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

R8, DC in next 8st, CH4, skip 4st, DC in each st till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

(Picture is taken following pattern Child aged 2-3, therefore DC in 4st, CH2, Skip 2st, DC in rest)

R9 and R10, DC in each st till end, fasten off after R10. - 42

R11, SLST on the first CH of R1, *CH4, SLST in between DCclusters*, repeat till end, turn. - 70st

R12, *Dc2together, DC, DC2together* in each CH4Space till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

R13 and R17, DC in each st till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

Fold work, good side in, SLST both sides together using outer loops.

Edge topside (finger side) with SC.

Weave in ends.

Tip: The tail of the first Chain is finger side.

For the second arm warmer, switch rows 6 - 10 with rows 13 - 17. And on the thumb row, R15, DC in next 30st, CH4, skip 4st, DC in last 8st.

(Picture is taken following pattern Child aged 2-3, therefore DC in 12st, CH2, Skip 2st, DC in 4st)

Enjoy! Hope you like it!

xoxoxo Patricia

Getting Serious now...

Back to school for the kids!! *YAY* But that means for me a bit more time to get serious business done! This is the first year that I will have 4 days a week at least 4 hours of child free time and today is the first day and it's heaven ( I hear angels singing, I swear!)

I'm a stay at home mammie of two beautiful children. A girl, Aoibhinn (pronounce as Ayveen), 5 years old. A proper little lady, since three months actually. Before that I was convinced she was a boy. But the princess phase has started and mammie is finally allowed to buy dresses, skirts and frilly things! She's the artist in the family, she loves to draw, write and create (especially with loads of sticky tape, tiny pieces of paper and yarn ends of mammie's work). And my boy, Aodhan (pronounce as Aydan), 4 years old. He's a proper boy, loves to rumble and tumble, crazy about his electronic gadgets, cheeky and has a good sense of sarcastic humor and gloating.

We live in Zaandam, Netherlands. Pretty town, with a chocolate and a cookie factory. You can smell the chocolate when you step outside. When they make strawberry cookies, the air outside is so sweet scented, you will gain 3 pounds just by breathing! We moved here a year ago. Before that we have lived in Ireland for seven years. My husband and I moved there in 2005 for a change of scenery and a different way of live. We loved living in Ireland. It's so pretty! But my husband got the opportunity to work for the same company in the Netherlands. And with the kids almost at school age, we decided to come back. We love having our families and friends close again, but sometimes we do get homesick for Ireland.

Another reason why we have moved back, was that we needed better help for my little boy. When he was 18 months he was practically deaf. He had so much fluids in his ears that he couldn't hear. It was like hearing under water. He had grommets placed and the hearing came back. But no sounds from him. They told us he would start talking within 6 months. When he was 2 he still didn't talk, only a couple of sounds and grunts. So we went back to the hospital and they put us on a waiting list. The waiting list was 18 months!! We tried to get help, but every one told us to be patient, he will talk eventually. So when my hubby came home with the announcement that we could move back home again, I jumped on it for Aodhan.

As soon as we were settled in our new house, I started calling around. The GP referred us to the hospital. We got loads of help, but not the correct help. Finally after 9 months we found the help he needed. He's going to a special school now, for children with severe speech and language difficulties. He's really happy there and is learning to communicate. He can hear and understand you, but nobody could understand him. He's learning sign language now, which he does brilliantly! And he has now around 10 understandable words. We had to learn sign language as well, Aoibhinn is very good at it.

At the moment we're going down the neurological path. He has had EEG's and other tests. Tomorrow is the big MRI and he has to go under full anesthetics. A bit nervous about that. His EEG's were clean, so we don't have to worry about that. They tested his IQ and that was high, but disharmonious. They're trying to convince me about Autism. But I'm refusing that at the moment, because he is a very social boy. He's very sweet with other people, he loves meeting new people. He doesn't look you in the eye, because he's looking at your mouth and hands to understand you. He's a dreamer and will daydream away during the day, but that doesn't mean he is zoning out. He loves to play with his cars and line them up, but that isn't compulsory or repetitive. He will go sit next to a couple of people on a bench in the park, because they're laughing and it looks like fun to him. He will ask to play with your phone even though you're a complete stranger. He will say complete sentences in sounds with the right intonation, but with no words. So no, I don't think it's Autism for now. We will see...

But getting completely off topic there. This blog is about me and my hobby, Crochet. I started learning crochet last year in August 2012. My boy is crazy about Angry Birds and saw an Angry Birds hat. Trying to find a nice hat was difficult. But I found some crochet patterns. So I bought a hook and some yarn, went on youtube and thought myself to crochet. I finished the hat and my boy loved it! But then he got into Starwars and wanted a R2D2 hat. So again, I sat down with my hook and started figuring out with help of youtube and the many tutorials out there, how to make him a R2D2 hat. In the mean time, I found loads of fun patterns on the internet, that I just had to try out. So I was making hat after hat. The girl next door wanted a hat, so I made her an Owl hat. Very popular in her class, so I had to make another 5 hats. So I spend my winter making hats for every one, trying out new techniques, putting together patterns of Spider-Man hats, for Aoibhinn's classmates, the Little Lady hat, the Two Tone Beret, the My Little Pony, Pinky Pie and Rarity Hats for Aoibhinn and her friends.

  

After making 3 Spider-Man hats I was done with it. I hated repeating the same pattern over and over again! I wanted to do something new. So I set up an Etsy shop with my patterns. This way I could make a bit of money to pay for all the yarn I use. I only make hats now per request. In the beginning I was feeling uncomfortable asking money for it, but I work hard for it and put in a good few hours. So I'm entitled hahaha

Hat season came to an end and I fell into a black hole. What now? No more hats until next winter? So I started playing around with Granny Squares and amigurumi (I always say arumigumi, I hate this word!). I made a few things, but nothing really WOW, iykwim?

It was March and I was at home looking out of the window watching the snow fall. Yes, snow in March, what the flip? Spring should have been here! And my window looked so gloomy and depressing, so I came up with my spring bird idea. It was a hell of a struggle to get the pattern to work, but it did! Proud!

I loved it, the birds were so colorful and cheery. They just light up my day every time I look at them. My sister in law had to have them as well. So I made one for her. Then my friend wanted one in the baby room, so I made one for her. It wasn't difficult for me to make another one, like with the Spider-Man hats, I liked it. So I wrote down the pattern and started selling it on Etsy. I also started selling on Ravelry. It was a hit! Yay!

My next idea was a Spring Tree. I blogged about it before. I started out with the idea of crocheting the leaves, but I had just bought these beautiful ribbons. So I used those.

Then I thought, I could crochet an apple tree for my other window. I love apple trees! I found this cute pattern of apples and pears online at PlanetJune and wanted to make a tree so I could hang these apples in it! But I couldn't find a pattern of the tree I wanted, so I started tinkering away. Setting it up, taking it down, setting it up again, until I had the base I was happy with. I just let it grow out of my hands and yarn and was surprised myself when I had the tree done. I LOVED it! But it didn't say apple tree to me. It screaaaaamed Yellow Ribbon. So I put a ribbon around it. I was so happy!

After that it slowed down in the crochet department, because I was so busy with the boy, getting him into the school, going to the hospital with him for all kinds of tests and preparing for the summer holidays. I started some other projects, Aoibhinn's Fairy, the broken clock, the little owls from RepeatCrafterMe. I made some flipflops for Aoibhinn, but writing the pattern was a pain, so it's on the to-do list for next summer! And I made the Chevron Skirt, that was fun to make, but a lot of work!

  

And now that August is back, we can start making hats again, YAY!!! So I started out with bang!
I washed the R2D2 hat by accident on a hot wash, so it's ruined! Aodhan needs a new hat and he fell in love with the Minions this summer! So I made him Kevin the Minion Hat! He loves it, but knows it's for the winter.

I also made some arm warmers, because they're just so cool! I will post the pattern soon on my blog as a free pattern. And also as a free pattern I will post the Minion amigurumi pattern soon.

So keep a close eye on my blog!

xoxoxo Patricia

PS: I promise my next entry will not be that long!

My Etsy!

Kevin the Minion Hat

Ravelry and Etsy