Thursday, March 31, 2016

a tangled mess

making a shawl using alpaca yarn from cascade yarns. the colors r garnet (red) and black. hoping to have it finished by 08May2016. however, the yarn is being a bit "knotty". not thinking me did not unwind the thing before beginning the piece. so, now i have a wonderful mess of red yarn that does not want to cooperate.


a 437yd entangled mess of wonderfully soft alpaca yarn. i am quite frustrated with it. i stood at my crafting table for a good 6 hrs in between attempting homemade bread. i still have not gotten it to bring usable. 
however, lesson learned. i have 3 more hanks to unravel but will be wiser on how i do them. 😉 her's to hoping i get this mess untangled and caked by tomorrow. we'll see.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

the making of a dragon


on 04March2016, i decided to try a larger amigurumi. i had not tried anything other than stuffed bears. as i searched thru patterns of larger stuffed toys very different from bears, i came across a dragon crochet pattern designed by Vanja Grundmann.
i scanned the pictues and pattern. did not look too difficult as the pattern is well written. u definitely need to know how to read this pattern as it is written to a more advanced pattern reader. i chose to do create a dragon.

pattern: BB_DRAGON
designed by: Vanja Grundmann
color of yarn used: I LOVE THIS YARN neon orange/RED HEART SUPER SAVER bright yellow
hook size: G4.5mm

below r the pieces of the dragon. not pictured: yellow body patch.

the body and head r made separately. first the head and then the body is made from an opening for stuffing. once the body is complete, the ridgeback is crocheted directly down the back.


the rest of the pieces r then attached.


the finished dragon is now ready for a child to enjoy.

i made a few mistakes on this, my first, so i will not sell it. i have a grandson, Gabriel, who should enjoy it.

will definitely make another one. this time, using bright yellow as main color with the neon orange as accent color. hopefully i learn from mistakes made on first.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

i created a pattern!

i wanted to make something with a shamrock. so i looked for patterns on how to create one. here r the 2 i chose:
bhookedcrochet.com
the pattern and video were very easy to follow.

this one is from bag-o-day crochet and more.
a bigger/taller leaf that is easy to do. the video was easily understood. however, i could not find the written pattern. i may write it out one day if no other can be found.

and finally my idea that combined the two patterns above.

i created my own shamrock with a square. i wish i had more green to make more squares and put up pics in the pattern. but alas, yarn is not, and this is my only square for the time being.

please leave a comment if u make this piece. would love to see how yours turns out.

in Christ,
Sandi

Sandi's Creations



4-Leaf Shamrock Square
design created by Sandi Freeman

referenced:
i came up with my design by combining 2 different styles of shamrocks found on the web: bhookedcrochet.com and bag-o-day crochet and more. please check out their versions of this shamrock.

materials needed
yarn: any kind will work.
hook: your choice
yarn needle
scissors

shamrock
RND 1 ~ in magic circle place 12dc, slst to first dc to join.

RND 2 ~ leaf: ch 1, sc in same st, *ch3, skip2 sts, sc in next st*. repeat from * - * 3x slst to first sc. stem: ch10, hdc in 3rd ch from hook, 3 hdc, 4sc, slst to first dc (same as join for leaf).

RND 3 ~ slst into ch3 sp, ch1, {sc, hdc, dc, tr2, dc, hdc, dc, 2tr, dc, hdc, sc} slst into dc from previous round. 

NOTE: make sure slst is secure so your leaf doesn't "flop" around.

square
RND 4 ~ standing dc, 2dc, *3dc in each leaf skipped sts,* repeat from * to * 2x. slst to first dc.

RND 5 ~ ch4, dc in same sp ch 1 dc in same sp, *ch1, dc, ch1,* repeat * to * 2x. dc ch1 dc ch1 dc** in same st, repeat from * to ** 2x. join with slst.

RND 6 ~ ch3, dc ch1 dc ch1 dc to form corner. ch1, *dc in ch sp dc in st* repeat 5x. dc in next ch sp. dc ch1 dc ch1 dc in next st(corner).** repeat from * to ** 2x. {ch1, dc in ch sp dc in st} repeat 4x, dc next st. slst to join.

RND 7 ~ ch4, dc ch1, *dc ch2 tr ch2 dc, ch1, dc12 (in space between sts all the way around). ch1 dc in sp, ch1,* repeat from * to * 3x

RND 8 ~ ch1 sc in same, ch2, skip1,  sc, ch2, skip1, sc, 2sc in ch2 sp, sc hdc sc in next st (should be middle  tr of previous rnd), 2sc in ch2 sp, sc in next st, *ch2, skip2,  sc* repeat from * to * 5x,  [ch2, skip1, sc 2x] 2sc in ch2 sp, sc hdc sc in next st (should be middle  tr of previous rnd), 2sc in ch2 sp, sc in next st, *ch2, skip2,  sc* repeat from * to * 6x, ch2, skip1, sc, 2sc in ch2 sp, sc hdc sc in next st (should be middle tr of previous rnd), 2sc in ch2 sp, sc in next st, ch2 skip1 sc *ch2, skip2,  sc* repeat from * to * 6x, 2sc in ch2 sp, sc hdc sc in next st (should be middle tr of previous rnd), 2sc in ch2 sp, sc in next st, *ch2, skip2,  sc* repeat from * to * 4x, ch2 slst in beginning sc to join.

RND 9 ~ ch1, 2sc in sp 2x, sc2, sc hdc sc (corner), sc3, 2sc in each sp across, sc2, sc hdc sc (corner), sc3, 2sc in each sp across, sc3, 2sc in each sp across, sc2, sc hdc sc (corner), sc3, 2sc in each sp across, sc3, 2sc in each sp across, sc2, sc hdc sc (corner), sc3, 2sc in next 5 sp. slst to join.

FINISH:
secure, cut, weave in ends.

DISCLAIMER:
u may sell any pieces u make. please link back to this original pattern when sharing. please do not sell or rewrite this pattern as your own.

if u come across any mistakes, please let me know thru this blog.

abbreviations
sc - single crochet
hdc - half double crochet
dc - double crochet
tr - treble/triple crochet
st(s) - stitch(es)
sp - space
rnd - round
slst - slip stitch