A Lovely Crochet Backpack

When I was in High School I went on a missions trip to Honduras.  While there I purchased a woven backpack that I used and loved for years.  Over time it ended up getting packed away with other sentimental items.  When I recently had a need for a small, lightweight, and flexible carrying sack my mind immediately thought of my well loved Honduras pack.  When I dug it up I was dismayed to find out that some hungry moth larvae had GONE TO TOWN.  While I do have plans of stitching up the original backpack, I thought, why not make myself a new one in the meantime?!  

I used this opportunity to improve on the original Honduras backpack design.  I did not like having to tie and untie a drawstring to open the backpack so my husband and I came up with a unique drawstring design with the straps that automatically closes when you put the backpack on your back!  Soooo handy!  I customized the straps to be a little shorter too so the bag didn't sag down too far on my back.

I was able to use some wonderful Noro yarn that I had in my stash.  To help stretch it out a bit (I only had 2 skeins of the yarn and I don't know if they still offer it for sale), I used a neutral color fisherman's wool yarn that I had in my stash too.  I love the way the neutral color makes the multi-color Noro yarn pop even more!

When I posted this original photo I had several people comment on my lovely basket (since I didn't say I was making a backpack).  I LOVE the idea of making a basket like this!  I might just have to make a little matching set! :)

Mason Jar Cozy

I'm so excited to show off my mason jar cozy!  I love the way the colors came together and not sure if you noticed, but there is a cute triangle pattern in the bottom 3 layers of the tan color sections.  Isn't it cute?!  It stretched out a tad after several uses but I put it in the washer and dryer and it shrunk right up again...good as new!  :)

Handmade Crochet Hooks & Succulents ♥

This past weekend I had a little photo session with my two loves:

Crochet & Succulents

Thought it might be fun to share. ;)

BTW, the hooks in these photos were carved by my awesome hubby.  Whenever I'm feeling in-need-of-love he surprises me with a new hook.  He takes first prize.

Steph's Summer Crochet List

1. Croshades...too fun!
2. Who can resist the bold summer colors of these crochet shoes?!
3. I love this simple crochet clutch!
4. Just love this vintage crochet cover-up!!

Six Links You'll Love

1. Love this printed tea towel by Yao Cheng!
2. Isn't this lion softie the absolute cutest?!
3. Concrete planter....♥
4. Curious little sloth hanging out on my collar.
5. Lemon cucumber grown in our self-watering garden!
6. I can't wait to get started on this vintage-inspired crochet potholder.

Sweet Cuddly Bunny

Ohhhhhh isn't this cuddly bunny so sweet?! She was a special order from a brand new Grandpa. I think she will look beautiful in her new home and be a loving companion to his granddaughter.

Meet Amigurumi Willy - The Retro Inspired, Flat Faced, Boy Doll

Willy's Amiguru"Me"

My last post introduced you to the fabulous craft of Amigurumi and I showed you Molly Doll who was made for my daughter Molly.  After making Molly Doll I just had to make a doll for my son Willy too, and of coarse he wanted a doll made in his likeness just like Molly's.  So I set out to make Willy's Amiguru"Me" (hehe, isn't that cute!).  I wanted to try something a little different and I was inspired to try making a sort of abstract, retro inspired doll with a flat head like the old Raggedy Ann dolls.  It was really fun figuring this guy out and really simple to make!  As you can see I haven't been able to bring myself to make a face for him yet in fear that I will mess him up.  Willy thinks he is sad without a face.  What kind of expression do you think Willy Doll should have?

I will post the pattern soon but couldn't wait to get a couple pictures of him up after reading AmigurumiBB's Blog post about her flat-headed boy doll.  I just LOVE the curly hair that she gave him.  Check back here soon for Willy's free pattern and learn how I gave him his permanent curly locks and created the flat head and movable hands, feet, legs, and arms. :)

"Amigurumi What?" Learn a New Craft & Meet Molly Dolly!!

Here's a fun little lesson on my very favorite hobby....Crochet!

Amigurumi: knitted or crocheted stuffed toys.  This word is made up of a combination of two Japanese words, ami (meaning to knit or crochet) and nuigurumi (meaning stuffed doll).  Honestly I don't know how the word stuck here in America.  I couldn't pronounce it for years and finally just picked a pronunciation that made me stutter the least...(ah-mee-goo-roo-mi).  Go ahead and give it a try...out loud...no one is listening...it's kinda fun to say actually.  Good, now when you talk to someone about amigurumi you will sound like a pro (cause I'm sure crochet comes up in most of your daily conversations, right?).  Well, it is the word most commonly used for these cute cuddly crochet creatures with big heads and wide set eyes.  I first learned to crochet amigurumi by taking Stacey Trock's "Amigurumi: Design Your Own Monster" class on Craftsy.  She teaches you the basics of making amigurumi so you can branch off and create pretty much anything you want with crochet.  It's a great class & I highly recommend it if you are interested in trying out this really fun craft.  Now I'm going to show you my first amigurumi doll (I think you are going to love her!)!!

Meet Molly Dolly, my first amigurumi doll. :)  

I made Molly Dolly for my daughter, Molly (hmmm, go figure) and she Loved her!  My goal for Molly Dolly was to add a bunch of details that will make her look and feel more "real".  She still has the proportions of an amigurumi doll (really just the big head and wide set eyes) but she also has eyelashes, puffy cheeks, a waist, her arms move, she has hands with fingers, and she has little defined knees.  I tried giving her ankles and little feet but as you can see I didn't make her legs long enough so she ended up with cankles (sorry about that Molly Dolly!).

I learned how to attach Molly Dolly's arms and make her hands with fingers from Sharon Ojala on You Tube.  I really like the arms attached this way because they move around a lot and I think the shoulders look so cute.  They definitely need to be tightened and knotted more than you think because they tend to loosen up each time they are played with.  I don't know if I will make hands with fingers again...it was a lot of work and I don't think the payoff was that great.  Don't they look kinda stubby and big to you?

Molly's hair was made by making a wig cap and attaching strands of hair to the cap.  I'm on the lookout for a better method of making amigurumi doll hair.  I really like the the "BB Doll's" hair ideas on "AmigurumiBB's blog".  I might try one of these styles for my next doll.  The cap took so long to make (essentially you are making half the head again) and then the attached hair was too thick.  As I tried to thin the hair out it just looked like she grew bald spots on her head.  Grrrr, frustrating!

Molly Dolly's dress is removable too!  I did this in hopes of creating different outfits that Molly could dress her up in.  I love the way the dress turned out and it was SO easy to make!

I didn't write a pattern for Molly Dolly since she was my first one (I was just trying to muddle through the design process).  But I love how she turned out so I am going to try again and fix the little parts that didn't work out exactly as I planned.  I'll get that pattern down to share with you guys for sure.  If you are interested in the pattern please follow my blog so that you get the update when I do post the pattern. :)

I'd love to hear what you think about her and any ideas on what I can improve on for round 2!

Some NeoGrandma Style

I thought I should post something on my family blog about how I've decided to move "Steph's Stitches" to a blog all its own.  Please welcome,

www.NeoGrandma.com

Along with a pretty blog (getting there at least) all it's own, I've also opened a shop on Etsy.com!  Check out the cool custom button I made...ALL BY MYSELF!

I'm having trouble making the image a link so click HERE to go to the shop.

Go ahead and look around, but don't forget to check back soon cause I'll be making improvements and adding items often!

A Tangle of Color

Behold: my colorful scarf.

  I decided to participate in a crochet contest (mentioned in previous post).  The challenge was to use at least four colors of Tahki Stacey Charles Cotton Classic yarn in the most creative way.  After much thought and many sketches, I settled on this mirrored wave idea with strands of color woven through.  I ordered my yarn online since we don't have a local yarn shop that carries this particular brand (unless you consider Fresno local...I don't).  So I anxiously awaited the arrival of my yarn not knowing if the colors would look at all like what I viewed on the computer screen.  To my delight, they were even better than I had hoped!    

The yarn is woven really tight and each ply is made of two ply of yarn so it gives the strand a woven effect.  It looks like tiny cord.  This made each wrap of each stitch stand out amazingly.  Most of my stitches are double treble crochet which means I wrap the yarn around my hook three times and pull through four times.  Basically, there are a lot of loops and twists to look at and it makes each stitch look really intricate.  Anyway, enough technical talk...let's view and VOTE for my scarf!  Go here!  You might have to sign in to vote, in which case, I totally understand if you do not want to sign up for knitting daily.  :)

Willy's Super-hero Mask

I thought it only appropriate to make Willy something fun after making Molly her little princess crown.  It just so happened that another one of my swatches made the perfect mask! 

Willy "roaring" for me

Molly's Princess Crown

Besides surveying the land in preparation for our garden, I've been able to crochet up a storm this weekend.  I'm planning on participating in the Tahki Stacy Charles yarn contest.  Basically I buy this yarn, crochet a scarf using at least 4 of their colors, and the most creative scarf (voted on by viewers like you) wins.  I will make another post with a link to my scarf once I finish it.  I ordered my yarn so while I'm waiting for it to arrive I'm thinking about a pattern that will compliment and best display the colors I've chosen. I've crocheted at least 5 swatches so far and think that I've figured out the pattern that I want to use (I made up my own stitch!!!).  One of my test swatches went terribly wrong but turned out so right!  I tried to stuff too many stitches into one row and voila: Molly's Princess Crown!!!

My mom keeps saying that Molly is a little model and I'm afraid she is totally right.  Isn't this the most beautiful and photogenic little princess you have ever seen?!  I think I'm in love. 

The Boob Heart

A few weeks ago I invited my friend, Jessica from Bible study over for a lesson in crochet. The "lesson" part (me teaching) didn't last long at all. Turns out she is a natural and just needed me to show her the basics. We had a blast talking and crocheting for hours. It was so much fun in fact that we scheduled session #2 for the following week. In one week she had learned all she needed to know to start a real project. We picked this cute 3D amigurumi heart pattern by MyGurumi that was available for free on Ravelry.com. We had no idea what we were getting into. Innocently we began our "crochet-a-long" (as I like to call it). As we crocheted "Cup A" and "Cup B" together, we soon realized that our sweet, innocent heart looked more like a set of lopsided boobs!

Steph's Stitches

In February of 2010 I signed on to Ravelry.com, a "knit and crochet community".  I love looking up patterns and viewing knit and crochet projects but it wasn't until recently that I actually updated my own profile and posted some of my crochet projects.  I thought I would share them here for those of you who are not a part of Ravelry.com.  I don't have pictures for everything that I have completed yet but I'm on my way.

The Eyeball.  This little guy was crocheted after I made a darling little elephant hacky-sack at Thanksgiving a few years ago.  The elephant didn't do so well as a hacky-sack (probably due to the ears and trunk!) but he was sure cute.  I filled him with plain popcorn kernels.  Anyway, my father-in-law thought the elephant was really cool and asked if I could make a Von Dutch eyeball with wings.  How he went from little blue elephant hacky-sack to eyeball with wings I'm not sure but never-the-less, I went to work!  I think this eyeball was the first crochet project that I've just eyeballed...uh, I mean, the first project I've made without a pattern.  He turned out so cute even though I never finished the wings.  I never stuffed him and gave him to my father-in-law either but the kids and I have had such fun just swinging him around by his ligaments that I left hanging out the back.  I even tied him to my glasses and scared my husband into thinking I was going to wear him (eyeball) as a Halloween costume in public.  He's given us some good times.  Thanks, little eyeball.

Next on the list of crochet projects is the diamond shawl.  This lovely lady was crocheted for my cousin, Dani (modeling it beautifully for me here).  I used a pattern by Kristin Omdahl in her book "Crochet So Fine".  I only made it half as long as the pattern called for but bought yarn to make the whole thing so I have another one that is about 25% complete in my project bag for myself.  The yarn is 100% alpaca lace weight (super fine).  With all the open lace you might not think it would be warm but it's so surprising how much heat this little beauty will generate! 

I especially love the shawl draped around Dani's neck like a scarf. It's so "grandma meets eclectic beauty".

The photo here is advertising our dog Pup's Christmas sweater.  My friend Tracy's dog, Blue is modeling it.  Pup is a lot more hyper so I never got a great picture of him in it.  I made one for my mom's dog Baloo as well.  I winged the pattern on these so they turned out a little different.  It's amazing how fast something whips up when you use big yarn and a fat hook though...I made these in an evening!

Valentine Hat.  I found this awesome stitch on Ravelry that looks like sideways knitting.  Tracy brought a hat that she had crocheted when she came to visit (above) and told me how fun it was to make.  I had never made a hat before so I had to try it.  It was more challenging than I had thought: I pulled the darn thing out at least 4 times getting the increases right.  Come to find out, the person that I learned the stitch from had a pattern for a hat on the same site!!  Arg.  I added the heart design by adding red yarn in some of the stitches and I added a little star stitch boarder.  Molly looks darling in it.

Last but not least is this little baby sweater that I very recently crocheted for our relatives in Spain on my husbands side.  I found this vintage pattern on Ravelry.com and knew I had to try it.  I had some yarn passed down to me from my mom from the 80's (I think).  Its labeled as baby yarn and it looks so soft and cuddly...LIARS!  Let me just say that el nuevo bebe better be wearing a turtle-neck onesie before donning this darling cardie!  It turned out super cute though and I bet it will be very warm.

Dreaming of Lace

I know I just posted two entries yesterday (or was that today?), but I tend to get obsessive when I start to get into something.  One of the things I'm obsessed with right now is lace.  Crochet, knit, new, vintage, bowls, doilies, tablecloths, shawls, all of it!  I've noticed it more and more these days in magazines and such so I'm hoping it is making a comeback.  Although, it could have always been there and I just never noticed before my obsession began.  There are so many things that I could mention about lace but I think I will narrow it down on this entry.  

Photo taken by Laure Joliet

Photo taken by Laure Joliet

I just had to mention the most amazing artist that I found a few weeks ago while browsing the internet for lace crochet.  Her name is Kristen Wicklund.  She creates what she calls porcelain-lace.  After you visit her website you just have to look at her flickr photos here.  She crochets these beautiful lace doilies of all different shapes and sizes, dips them in liquid porcelain, lays them in bowls or drapes them to give them a little shape and then fires them.  During the firing process all of the crochet thread burns out of the porcelain leaving this amazingly delicate porcelain art.  She has posted pictures of her process on her flickr page.  I would love to have a big bowl to put fruit or flowers in on my counter or a collage on my wall.

Photo taken by Laure Joliet

I wonder if the same thing could be done with a stronger medium (like metal) so that you could make a fruit bowl or basket that would hold up to a lot of wear and tare.  I visited her photos right before I went to bed.  Not a good plan if I want a good dreamless nights sleep.  All night I tossed and turned dreaming of crochet lace and its endless possibilities.

Molly's Mermaid Shawl

Every year my grandmother, "Grami" organizes an all girls camping trip.  We have done this for years bouncing around to different camping spots.  A few years ago we tried camping in San Simeon and have gone there ever since.  One of our favorite activities is spending a day shopping in Cambria.  This year we found an amazing yarn shop called "Ball and Skein".  As I walked in the door my jaw dropped to the floor and my lungs filled with air as I tried to take in all of the beautiful yarn strewn about.  There were baskets of balls and long hanks hanging from racks suspended from the ceiling.  In the corner were a couple of women knitting samples to drape on pretty chairs and cushions throughout the store.  I was drawn to the draping Blue Heron hand dyed yarn that seemed to be raining from the ceiling.  I loved every color but the one I chose was a blend of silk and silver named "Ocean".  Pictures of myrmaids with irrodescent tails and flowing locks of hair swam through my head.  I couldn't wait to make something beautiful for my precious Molly girl.  I took the yarn home and wound it in a ball (it took FOREVER!) and left it on my nightstand for weeks trying to decide what to make with it.  I finally found a patter for a circular blanket/shawl/doily thingy that could go as big or small as I needed.  The circular pattern made me think of waves so I pulled out my beautiful new crochet hooks (hand made Nom OC wood; b.day gift from my mom bought that same day!) and...presto!  Molly's mermaid shawl. 

Bundled up at the cabin

I barely had a chance to weave in the ends let alone block it (wet it and dry it out in the right shape so the edges don't curl up) because Molly was so excited to have it.  That made me feel so good!