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!

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!

A Quick Update and a BOGO Sale!

Well, the sock monkey hat is complete and just about ready to ship to a sweet girl for her Halloween costume:

And I've started a hat for DS4's costume. He'll be Pikachu, the ubiquitous yellow pokemon mouse. Somewhere around here, we have a face mask for the costume, but I know he won't wear it (plus, it's a safety issue .) So I'm making him a Pikachu hat! Hope it turns out as well as the sock monkey hat!

DS1 had his first high school performances this past weekend. He did a super job! And he was invited to attend the Texas Thespian Festival in Corpus Christi in November!! He's beyond excited!

Today is First Monday, and I'm having a BOGO 50% off sale at The Lavender Lizard and at The Lavender Ladybug! Please stop by! Other ETC shops and their sales info are listed in this Etsy forum thread.

Happy First Monday!

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.)