Some Small Projects and a Free Pattern

Last time I shared some of the larger projects that I completed in the last year or so today I thought I would share some of the smaller things that I have also completed.

Last Halloween, I crocheted part of my youngest son's costume. He wanted to be a knight so I made him a 'chain mail' hood and sleeves. He loved it, and I think it turned out great.

My bff gave me a Star Wars character crochet kit for Christmas. The designer is Lucy Collin and the characters are completely adorable! I made the Chewbacca first, and I have plans to make R2-D2 and Boba Fett next.

I also made an owl hat for a friend's daughter who is turning 3 soon. The pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me. I made a few small changes, and I love the way it turned out! So did my friend and her daughter. :)

My new little great-niece got a sweet hat too.

I also have four other WIPs sitting in my little sweater basket (another gift from by bff). One is a beautiful yellow mesh scarf that I haven't worked on in ages. The other is my tunic. You can't see it but it's buried down there. :) It's actually finished but I need to block it and sew it together (the parts of a project I dread doing - haha).

The last two WIPs are both Sophie's Universe by Dedri Uys -- I'm making them both with Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable. I love how the color changes work so well with this pattern. The color pictured below is Sunrise. With just one skein, I made it almost all the way to the end of the 25th round (not bad!). I shouldn't refer to these as small projects, but they're small for now! :)

Speaking of small projects, I have this little shamrock pattern to share with you.

Shamrock Motif:

C hook
Green Cotton Crochet Thread

Using 2 strands of crochet thread held together, ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to join and make loop.
Round 1: Ch 1, 7 hdc in loop, sl st to 1st hdc to join.
Round 2: Ch 1, *(2 dc, hdc, 2 dc) in next st, sl st in next st, rep from * 2 more times, sl st in next st, ch 3 (this will make the stem), sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, sl st to connect stem to bottom of shamrock.
Finish off, leaving long tail for sewing if desired.

Please do not copy and redistribute my pattern as your own. Feel free to sell finished items -- please give me credit though for the original pattern by linking here. If you have any questions or problems with the patterns, please feel free to leave a comment here. Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

How Can It Be October Already?

I just cannot believe how quickly this year is passing. It feels as if I just dropped off my oldest at college, but in reality it has been more than 7 weeks. Luckily, my son texts me all the time, so it doesn't feel much different from last year. He is adjusting well to living on his own, and we are all managing here without him. Although we certainly miss him.

We have been to Houston twice to visit him. While I have my own personal prejudices against the city (really long story), I do love the campus of the University of Houston. It has towering trees, beautiful art installations, and buildings of stature and distinction, plus all the amenities one could possibly want. Makes me wish I could go to college again. :)

The best part for me is how happy Morgan is:

 And just in case you thought there would be no mention of yarn in this post, guess again! :)

This is another WIP that I work on now and again. I have been hoard, ummm... saving, this yarn for awhile, and I finally had to start using it. It's Red Heart Boutique Treasure in Watercolors. I just love all the shades -- it looks like several colors but it really is only the one colorway. I'm using the Spring into Summer Blanket pattern by Felted Button (the pattern calls for a different yarn but works up beautifully with this one).

I'm also working on seasonal items. I was playing around the other day with a little ghost applique that I just couldn't get out of my head. I made 2 versions: a 'standing' ghost and a 'floaty' ghost.

I posted them on Instagram and got some requests for a pattern, so I wrote them up and here they are:

Little Ghost Applique

WW yarn 

G hook

Version 1:

Rnd 1: Magic Circle, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, all in circle, pull tight, join w/ sl st in first dc.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, 2 hdc in next 4 sts, hdc, (ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc2tog, sc in last ch), sc in same st as hdc, (hdc, dc) in next st, 3 dc in next st, (dc, hdc) in next st, sc, (ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, 2 sc in next ch, sc in last ch), hdc in same st as sc, 2 hdc in next st, sl st to join. 

Rnd 3: Ch 1, (hdc, dc), (dc, hdc), hdc in next 3 sts, (hdc, dc), (dc, hdc), sl st, finish off. Weave in ends. 

Version 2:

Rnds 1 and 2 are the same as above.

Rnd 3: Ch 1, sc, 2 hdc, (hdc, dc), 2 dc in ea of next 2 sts, ch 4, 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, 2 hdc in next ch, 3 dc in last ch, sl st to ghost body to join, finish off. Weave in ends. 

Face: Use black yarn or thread to embroider eyes and mouth.

Please do not copy and redistribute my pattern as your own. Feel free to sell finished items -- please give me credit though for the original pattern by linking here. If you have any questions or problems with the patterns, please feel free to leave a comment here. Enjoy!

Some Recent Projects

My favorite holidays to stitch for are Halloween and Christmas. I love a handmade touch to Halloween costumes!

This past year, my youngest son wanted to be a ghost. Easy peasy! White shirt and sweatpants plus a large square of white tulle with the finishing touch of a crocheted ghosty hat!

My 12yo wanted to be Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. The hardest part was figuring out how to make his hair yellow. The yellow hair paint did not change his dark hair color all that much, but we went with it. And to complete his costume, I crocheted a Hobbes tiger, courtesy of the free pattern by sukigirl. He loved it!

Here are some work-in-progress photos of Hobbes:

For me, I made this adorable little skull with a bow which I sewed on to a lime green t-shirt.

The yarn I used was a limited-production glow-in-the-dark fiber from Bernat that I bought years ago. It was perfect for this project!

The Difference $1.19 Makes

After finally buckling down (and gluing for what seemed like days), I finished the Great Grey Owl costume. Just in time for the Halloween party last Saturday night. Well, actually, we were an hour late. We would have been even later, but I 'edited' the costume and saved myself loads of time and burnt fingers by cutting off the sleeves. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. :)

I probably would have had more time if I hadn't made the hat twice. Why twice? The first version was 'ok'....

but to me, it wasn't 'owly' enough. So I dug through my stash and discovered this lost treasure:

 It's a super-thin fuzzy yarn that added the perfect amount of texture to the original yarn. Not bad for $1.19!

Here's the finished beanie with the owl's facial features:

And my inspiration, a truly gorgeous creature:

I have to reshoot photos of the entire costume. My model has already gone to bed.

Catching Up, Part II

Looking back at past posts, I have realized that I never shared the finished Domo hat in action. So here it is (as modeled by DS4):

And who doesn't love Domo, anyway!

Right now I'm creating another sock monkey hat -- this one for DS4's Halloween costume. If there's enough time, I'll make one for me also, since he has requested that I be his "sock monkey mama" and who can resist a request like that! Not me!

DS3 has challenged me to make him an owl costume for Halloween, and not just any ol' owl either, specifically a Great Grey Owl. I'm not exactly sure how I will pull this off, but here's the base for the owl hat (Vanna's Choice yarn in Grey Marble):

After the Halloween costumes, I hope to finish this scarf:

It's a Missoni-inspired long chevron scarf in many, many shades of blues and greens (Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn). I'm not positive but I think there are about a dozen different colors in this.

And just for fun, here's a little pennant flag banner in beautiful autumn colors (Heart & Sole yarn in Tequila Sunrise):

 As soon as I block this, I'll use it to decorate a mirror in our entryway. I'm considering making another one in winter holiday colors for a tiny tree. If. There's. Time. :)

A Project Update

I made mittens to match the Sock Monkey hat and shipped both the hat and the mittens last week. Here's the complete set:

I'm working on a Pikachu hat for DS4's Halloween costume. The face parts just need to be added to the beanie part. I think it'll be great!

My two youngest sons received an invitation to celebrate the third birthday of a distant cousin, so I made a little beanie as a gift. I love the colors!

A couple of weeks ago, 2 friends and I took our children (12 of them!) to a pumpkin patch in Medina, Texas. Despite a few raindrops, it was a beautiful fall day in the Hill Country, and everyone had a great time!

My Poor Neglected Blog

Every day that I don't blog, I feel guilty. Lately, I've been feeling guilty a lot. :)

I have been busy shuttling boys back and forth to school and such. They're at 3 different campuses this year, and DS1 has parts in both the theatre and musical productions at his high school, so I'll play taxi mom for the near future. But I don't really mind -- I love to see DS1 on stage. He told me the other day that I didn't have to see all of the productions that he's in. I don't? Oh, yes I do. Wild horses couldn't make me miss him on stage!

I have also been busy with hooks and yarn, as always. Here's a sneak peek at an upcoming project:

Can't guess what it is? If you're a fan of The Lavender Lizard on Facebook, you may already know that it's the start of a sock monkey hat for a Halloween costume for a dear friend's daughter. I'll post the finished photos soon.

Speaking of hats, you may remember that I created three beanies for my cousin Meri, the photographer. She used one of the beanies in a photo shoot with a newborn baby girl about a week ago. Here's one of the photos she shared with me:

This baby is just gorgeous, and Meri has captured such a special moment! I'm honored to be a small part of this beautiful memory. (Photo courtesy of MeriBella Photography.)

A Handmade Halloween and First Monday Sale!

Here's DS3 and DS4 dressed up for Halloween:

(Note: I apologize for DS4's unfortunate hand gesture. The gloves were too big for his little hands. Also, he wouldn't let me draw a mustache or sideburns. Maybe next year...)

DS2 was Indiana Jones with my old leather jacket and a fedora, and DS1 was the Plague. Yes, the Plague. He had his rat minions crawling all over his shirt. Not real ones of course, because that's just gross and would freak me out.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!

And a quick reminder that today is ETC's First Monday Sale! 99 shops are participating this month! Save 20% at The Lavender Ladybug, and Buy One Get One 50% Off *OR* Buy Two Get One Free at The Lavender Lizard! Have a great day!

Happy Halloween!

Just a short post in-between candy runs. Life's been super busy, but I have to share one funny little item I just had to get for Halloween -- the Devil Domo:

He's so cute and if you recall, DS3 dressed as Domo for last Halloween. That costume was such a hit with all of his friends and the other trick-or-treaters (the adults, however, were baffled.) I briefly considered recycling the Domo costume -- which we still have -- and adding the horns and forked tail. (Maybe next year....)

Here's a sneak peek of DS3 and DS4's costumes:

More photos of the boys in their costumes coming soon, and don't forget Monday is the ETC First Monday Sale.

Let's be safe out there....

Where Does the Time Go?

I just realized today that it has been a month since my last blog post. Where did the time go? Well, I stay busy with 3 boys at 2 schools plus the baby at home. (Okay, so the baby is 3 now and talks up a storm, but he is forever and always "the baby".) I serve on a PTA board and a Council of PTAs board and now a Bond Committee board. Then there's my part-time, mostly weekends job and oh yeah, I just got re-hired at a previous job. So to an extent, the things that have suffered the most from my "busy-ness" have been my Etsy shops and obviously, this blog.

I have found time to crochet, though, in the midst of this madness. I am working on a large wholesale order for The Lavender Lizard. Here's a sneak peek:

I'll have more information on these later, so stay tuned!

Plus I've just finished a custom request for silver metallic stars in 3 sizes at The Lavender Ladybug. They will be sewn onto a sweater for a Halloween costume. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

And I did finish both the market bag for my friend's daughter (no pics, though) and the one for my sister:

Sadly, DS3's bookbag is on the backburner. More than likely, it will be a Christmas gift now. After all, Christmas is less than 3 months away, so I do have some time to finish it.

(Proof that time really flies: Happy 12th Birthday, DS2!)

The Best Handmade Halloween Costume Ever!

Do you know Domo?

Candy Corn!

Yummy! And fat-free, too!
These are the small candy corn motifs I promised to list at The Lavender Ladybug. They turned out so cute! I even made a candy corn zipper pull for my second grader's backpack. (I'll have to remember to photograph it soon.)