In Her Sundae Best (Crochet Eye Experiment)

  So, I've been thinking lately of a new way to do the crochet eyes for my dolls (and I decided to blog about it at 1:28 in the morning).

I love to make my dolls faceless. I think faceless dolls are good for the imagination, but most people get very alarmed at the idea of a doll with no face, so I generally add faces to all of my dolls these days.  Button eyes and safety eyes are usually what I opt for. However, buttons aren't always in the colors I want, and safety eyes are expensive. So, I figured maybe I could try to crochet the eyes instead. I used embroidery floss so they wouldn't be too bulky. I tested them on this doll here:

The great thing about embroidery floss is that it comes in a TON of colors, so I can go nuts with eye color if I choose to stick with this method. I may make a few different versions of these eyes before I'm totally satisfied, but I like this set well enough.

Okay, now off to bed! My son has a doctor's appointment in the morning.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

      It's Christmas Eve, and I can't help but think of my Oma since every year for a long time, we've all gathered in her beautiful home on this day. This will be the first Christmas since she passed away earlier this year, and I miss her even more now...which I didn't think possible.

     One thing that's been coming to mind so much this last week is the crochet snowflakes she would always make around this time and give as gifts to everyone. I remember when she gave me a snowflake and how much I treasured it because it was so dainty and looked so complicated to make that I couldn't help but be impressed. Now that I'm older and know the work that goes into crochet items, I'm even more impressed by her ability to make so many wonderful things and give them to her family so freely. She was wonderful.

    Rather than make myself sad today, I've decided to share a few free simple snowflake patterns I found on the internet that I thought were cute and within my talents to crochet. Hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas season. Now go spend time with your family!

http://accordingtomatt.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

http://bobbilewin.com/?p=3400

http://crochet.about.com/od/snowflakes/a/easy-crochet-snowflake-pattern-for-advanced-beginners.htm

Mr. Fox [Free Pattern]

As a crocheter/sometimes knitter, I've always appreciated finding free patterns to practice with that allow me to start projects right away without having to fumble around with what works and what doesn't. I've finally found the courage to see if I can give back to the crochet community a little with this free pattern that I just wrote!

I've tried my hand at patterns before...but mostly in shorthand that only I could understand. Please, by all means tell me of any mistakes you notice so that I may improve the pattern if necessary.
Also, if any of you like this pattern, feel free to sell any of the finished foxes that you make. If you put in the work then you should be allowed to sell what you've made, in my opinion.

Please post pictures of your completed projects. I'd love to see them.

Don't forget to feed your yarn stash!



Mr. Fox Pattern:

It's pretty standard. It's all single crochet, and a some sewing. He stands about 6 1/2 inches from ear to foot.

Materials: Caron Simply Soft medium 4-ply yarn in "pumpkin" color

Lion Brand Heartland, medium 4-ply yarn in "acadia" color

Caron Simply Soft medium 4-ply yarn in "black" color

Two black buttons for eyes

Black embroidery thread for nose and for sewing on buttons

Polyfill stuffing

Size F (5-3.75mm) crochet hook


Terms:
ch- chain
sc- single crochet
st/sts- stitch/stitches
dec- decrease stitch
sl st- slip stitch

Tips:You might find it easier to mark your place using a stitch marker.

I like to stuff my amigurumi pretty tightly, but you can stuff it less for a squishier toy.

I don't stuff the arms or legs. I like them to be bendy.

I like to weave in the ends as I go along to keep things neat.

When you fasten off a piece that needs to be sewn to the body, if you leave the tail of the yarn long enough, you can use it to sew the piece onto the body.




Head:In "pumpkin" color:
Ch 2
Row 1: 6 sc in the second ch from the hook (6)
Row 2: 2 sc in each st (12)
Row 3: 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in the following st. Repeat until end of row (18).
Row 4: 1 sc in the next 2 sts, 2 sc in the next st. Repeat until end of row (24).
Row 5-8: 1 sc in each st. (24)
Row 9: 1 sc in next 2 sts, dec the following st. Repeat until end of row (18).
Row 10: 1 sc in each st around (18) Start stuffing as you go.
Row 11: 1 sc in next st, dec the following st. Repeat until you have done 6 sts. Switch to "acadia" color for remaining 6 sts  (12).

Row 12: Switch to "pumpkin" color. Sc 6 sts. Switch to "acadia" color for remaining 6 sts. (12)

Row 13: Switch to "pumpkin" color. Dec next 3 sts. Switch to "acadia" color. Dec final 3 sts. (6)Fasten off and stitch opening closed.




Snout (Make two...one in "pumpkin" color and one in "acadia" color):

Ch 3 and turn
Row 1: 1 sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (2)
Row 2: 2 sc in each st. Ch 1 and turn. (4)
Row 3: 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in following 2 sts, 2 sc in last st. (6)
Row 4-6: 1 sc in each st. (6) Fasten off.

Sew both snout pieces together so that you form a cone shape...leaving the wider end open for stuffing. Stuff snout and line it up on the head so that the "acadia" colors line up together. Sew onto head and embroider tip of snout with black embroidery floss for the nose.

Sew both black buttons over the snout for eyes.




Body:In "pumpkin" color,
Ch 12 and sl st together to form a ring.
Row 1-4: 1 sc in each st. (12)
Row 5: 2 sc in next st, 1sc in the following st. Repeat until end of row. (18)
Row 6-7: 1sc in each st. (18)
Row 8: 1 sc in first 2 sts, 2 sc in the following st. Repeat until end of row. (24)
Row 9-10: 1 sc in each st (24)

Crochet the wide part of the body together at the bottom, leaving the top open for stuffing. Stuff body and sew to the bottom of the head.


Ears (make two):

In "black" color,
ch 2
Row 1: sc 4 sts in the 2nd ch from the hook (4)
Row 2: Switch to "pumpkin" color. 2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the following st. Repeat till end of row. (6)
Row 3: 2 sc in each st (12)
Row 4: 1 sc in each st (12)
Fasten off.

Sew bottom of ears together. Do not stuff. Sew onto top of head.



Arms (make two):

In "black" color,
ch 2
Row 1: 6 sc in the 2nd ch from the hook. (6)
Row 2-5: 1 sc in each st around. (6)
Row 6: Switch to "pumpkin" color and sc in each st around. (6)
Row 7-10: 1 sc in each st around. (6)
Fasten off.

Sew one arm on each side of the body.

Legs (make two):

In "black" color,
ch 2
Row 1: 8 sc in the 2nd ch form the hook. (8)
Row 2-5: 1 sc in each st around. (8)
Row 6: Switch to "pumpkin" color and sc in each st around. (8)
Row 7-11: 1 sc in each st. (8)
Fasten off.

Sew legs to the bottom of the body.


Tail (now for the "tail" end of the project):

In "acadia",
ch 2
Row 1: 6 sc in the 2nd ch from the hook. (6)
Row 2: 1 sc in each st. (6)
Row 3: 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in the following st. Repeat until end of row. (9)
Row 4: 1 sc in each st. (9)
Row 5: 2 sc in each st. (18)
Row 6: Switch to "pumpkin" color. 1 sc in each st. (18)
Row 7-8: 1 sc in each st. (18) Start stuffing at you go.
Row 9: Dec each st. (9)
Row 10-12: 1 sc in each st. (9)
Row 13: Dec next st, 1 sc in the following st. Repeat until end of row. (6)
Row 14: 1 sc in each st. (6)
Fasten off.

Sew to back of the body.