Friday, December 30, 2016

Mould & Paint: Sea Life

Ever since my son got a Mould and Paint: Safari kit from my sister (I'll post about this soon), I've been obsessed with buying similar kits.



Today's crafting activity with the kiddo is Mould & Paint: Sea Life. This kit contains a mould, two packs of plaster powder, a strip of magnet with adhesive, two pins, five small tubs of paint, and a paint brush. The mould has six designs: a turtle, two starfishes in a coral, an angel fish, a seahorse, two clown fishes behind a coral, and another fish that I have no idea what type it is. The available colors for the paint are: blue, yellow, white, pink, and purple.



We did the moulding a few days before. Just mix one pack of the plaster powder in 30-70 mL water. Pour the mixture onto the mould and wait for it to set and dry. You have to keep an eye on them because you'll be adding the magnet, pins, or a string (not included in the kit) before it completely dries up.

These are some of the dried up designs. We wanted to try making these into a fridge magnet (using magnets, duh), a badge (using the pins), and an ornament (using strips of string). I didn't use the magnet strip provided but used my own magnet, don't know what it's called, but it's the small, round ones.


I let the kiddo paint on his own. Since he loves pink right now (because of Jigglypuff, don't ask), he painted most of his work with pink. I painted one, the one with the two starfishes because I got frustrated with his clown fish painting. If you find the clown fish I'm referring to, then good for you. 😜

Sorry about the backdrop, we were still letting it dry when I took a picture.

So there you go. I have three more boxes of these Mould & Paint kits, four if I were to include the one my sister gave the kiddo. Hopefully we'll be able to make more these beauties.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Boxy Fox Amigurumi Keychain

I made this Boxy Fox Amigurumi to give as a gift to one of my book buddies. It was easy enough to follow, and fun to make! What I love the most about this pattern is that there is no need to sew most of the parts.


In the pattern, this was supposed to be a big toy, but I used a small thread and hook to make it the right size for a key chain. I also didn't use safety eyes and nose, as I do not have them on hand, and used a cross stitch instead to make the eyes and nose. My original plan was to switch colors where the nose and eyes should be, but it was ugly and it'd ruin everything. Plus, the wonderful ladies from the Facebook group that I belonged to suggested to just sew/embroider the eyes and nose. And the result was wonderful!

original plan with the nose

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Primrose & Proper Cowl

I made this cowl as a token to my husband's Aunt in the US. I got the pattern on Ravelry (link to pattern) for free. It was really easy to make, it took me at most an hour to make this. I followed the length on the pattern, but soon found out that it was a tad bit smaller than I wanted, so I changed the position of the buttons. I will definitely make this again, probably in a different color and make it bigger.


Useful tip for the pattern: the pattern did not indicate the weight/thickness of the yarn used. So work the length of the base chain according to your preferences.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Rose Pencil Topper

I made this rose pencil topper months ago. The rose that I used here was rolled and sewn. Although it's prettier and fuller, I cannot recreate it anymore. And if memory serves me right, I had a hard time sewing the tube, or the cylindrical body of the topper, to the rose itself. 



So I searched for a no-sew rose pattern. This is the best that I've seen so far: No-sew Ruffle Rose Pattern

It's easier to sew on the body, and I think I can even do these toppers without sewing or doing the two pieces separately. I'll try to do that next time.


How to make the topper:
  1. Make the rose using the pattern above.
  2. Make the body/tube/whatever that part is called. Pattern below.
  3. Sew together.
Pencil Topper Body or Tube:

Chain 10. Slip stitch to first chain. You will work in rounds.
Rows 1-10: Chain 1. Single crochet on each stitch. Sl st to first stitch.

You can change the base chain and the height of the body by increasing or decreasing the rows.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Octopus Amigurumi

I saw a pattern for an octopus amigurumi on one of the crochet groups on Facebook, and I thought my kids would like it. I made a few modifications on the pattern, and re-written it for easier understanding. Like some of the commenter, I got a bit confused with the pattern and I just used my instincts so I can proceed. Luckily, I was right. Some said their octopus head looks like a brain. Haha!

Anyway, here's a picture of the Octopus Amigurumi that I made. Isn't it cute? I love how it turned out.


Materials:

  • I used Monaco mercerized crochet cotton thread: fuschia (A), black (B), and white (C).
  • 2.5mm crochet hook
  • tapestry needle
  • scissors
  • stitch marker
  • polyester fiber fill, although I used cotton because I don't have fiber fill.

Crochet stitches used:
  • single crochet (sc)
  • half double crochet (hdc)
  • slip stitch (sl st)
  • increase (inc) - 2 sc in one stitch
  • decrease (dec) - join 2 stitch into one
  • magic ring
  • chain (ch)
Note: The original pattern used the invisible decrease. This is copied from her post:
"Invisible decrease (Put hook through the FRONT LOOP ONLY of the two stitches you are bringing together. Pull yarn through. You will have two loops on hook. Pull yarn through both loops)"

Embroidery stitches used:
  • back stitch
  • satin stitch

Instructions:

The octopus has three parts: a pair of eyes, the head, and the tentacles (eight).


Eyes (make 2)
  1. Using color B, make a magic ring. Ch 2. 6 dc inside ring. Sl st on top of first dc. Fasten off. Leave tail long enough to sew the eye on the octopus head.
  2. Using color C, satin stitch eye reflections on each eye.

Head, use color A

Row 1: Make a magic ring. Ch 1. 6 sc inside ring. The original pattern didn't say anything (or maybe she did and I just missed it) about closing off each row, so I made each row continuously. She did, however, said to mark (and update) each row. (6 stitches)

Row 2: Inc in each stitch. (12 stitches)

Row 3: * Sc, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (18 stitches)

Row 4: *Sc on 2 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (24 stitches)

Row 5: * Sc on 3 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (30 stitches)

Row 6: * Sc on 4 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (36 stitches)

Row 7: * Sc on 5 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (42 stitches)

Row 8: * Sc on 6 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (48 stitches)

Row 9: * Sc on 7 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (54 stitches)

Row 10: * Sc on 8 stitches, inc in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (60 stitches)

Rows 11-18: Sc on each stitch. (60 stitches)

== Sew on eyes and mouth. ==

Row 19: * Sc on 8 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (54 stitches)

Row 20: * Sc on 7 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (48 stitches)

Row 21: * Sc on 6 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (42 stitches)

Row 22: * Sc on 5 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (36 stitches)

Row 23: * Sc on 4 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (30 stitches)

Row 24: * Sc on 3 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (24 stitches)

== Start stuffing the head == 

Row 25: * Sc on 2 stitches, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (18 stitches)

Row 26: * Sc, dec in next * Repeat stitches enclosed in * until end of row. (12 stitches)

== Finish stuffing head ==

Row 27: Dec until end of row. (6 stitches)

Sew the opening close. Leave the tail long for attaching the tentacles on the head.


Tentacles (make 8)
  1. Using color C, ch 20. Turn. The original pattern calls for 30 ch, but I wanted my tentacles shorter and more proportional with the head. 
  2. On the second stitch from the hook, sc. Hdc until you reach the end. Fasten off. This part, I changed the tip of the tentacles and the height (or width) of each tentacle. If you want a bigger tentacle, the pattern is linked at the start of this post.
  3. Using color A, do the same as #1 & #2, but do not fasten off. You'll have something like this.


  4. Place partial tentacle color A on top of color C. Make sure they are aligned nicely. Also note that you have color A on your hook. Turn the aligned partial tentacles. Ch 1. Sc around the two. Again, you have to make sure that you have the two aligned perfectly and your sc should go through both partial tentacles. Fasten off. Leave a trail for sewing the tentacles together.

    I hope this image helps. This is not the tentacle that I used for my octopus;
    this is using the original pattern's tentacle
Combining the parts of the octopus

After making the tentacles, sew them together. What I did was sew the edges of two tentacles together (in a line), then added one tentacle at a time until it looks like the image below.

Then sew the tentacles to the bottom of the head. Clean up the trailing thread/yarn.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Chewy Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies



Hi there! Today is my birthday! I made these oh-so-yummy chewy cookies yesterday just so I can enjoy munching on it today. This is a shortcut-recipe using a brownie mix. Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix, to be exact, but you can use any brownie mix out there.

I got the recipe from The Ultimate Shortcut Cookie Book, but I made a slight change. In the recipe, it uses half a pack of cream cheese. I used the whole pack. By accident, to be honest. I wasn't paying attention to the recipe. Insert awkward laugh here.

Ingredients:

  • brownie mix, 1 pouch/pack
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 pack (8oz) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
Baking materials:
  • wooden spoon
  • cookie sheets
  • mixing bowl
  • wire rack
  • oven, duh
Baking instructions:
  1. Preheat oven. I have a small electric oven, I have it set up at 250C (or was it 200C?)
  2. Mix all ingredients in the mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until well blended. The dough will sticky.
  3. Drop dough onto cookie sheets, with at least half an inch space between them. The recipe book says 2 inches apart, but I have a smaller oven, and I wanted to make at least 6 cookies in a batch. Anyway, they didn't stick to each other, so I'm sticking with my half-inch space.
  4. Bake for 8 minutes. Adjust your time as needed. It will not bounce back immediately when you press the cookie, but it shouldn't be hard as well. Remember, these are chewy cookies. Not crunchy ones.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Toucan Drawing

My 6-yo son is artistically inclined, so I dedicate a few hours a week to make art with him. I bought us how-to-draw books last weekend, so this week's art activity is drawing a toucan.

The LO didn't finish his drawing because it's "ugly". He got a little bit frustrated because he was handling the pencil too hard, so I taught him how to use light strokes. He has now moved on to drawing flowers, but I thought I'd share with you my finished drawing.

Tada!


It took me about 10-20 minutes to do this, I used a Stabilo Othello 282 pencil. Don't ask me why, it was just the pencil that I grabbed from the drawing set that I bought. I don't know the differences between pencils yet, I should probably start learning since I have to guide my son with his drawing while he's not enrolled in art school but I'm too lazy to learn by myself. If there's anyone who is willing to teach me (for free *coughs*), just let me know.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Monster Pompoms: Vampire

I try to have at least one crafting activity with my 6-yo son. He loves creating things, and I guess he's the one that really inspired me to start this blog.

Anyway, I saw this video tutorial on Facebook: DIY Halloween Decor, and thought  that  my son would enjoy doing this with me. So today, we decided to make a vampire as our crafting activity this weekend.

Now, don't laugh, but this is a post where the reality is far from the expected outcome. To give you a visual, I grabbed this image on Kids' Craft Ideas. Isn't that cute? So fluffy!

Expectation

And now, I give you our finished product. It may not be as cute and fluffy as what we saw on the video or on the image above, but my son loved it. While I was being so pessimistic, he was all "Mommy, it's starting to be cute!" and "I love it!" I even got a free hug for making him a monster.

Reality

So, are you still interested to know how we did it? Or did our vampire scare you away?

Materials:

  • thin wire
  • yarn
  • craft eye (we only used one)
  • glue
  • glue gun + glue stick
  • scissors
  • cardboard
  • watercolor + brush
  • masking tape
Instructions:

Step 1: Make the attachments - wings, fangs, ears, and tail. My son wanted to put a tail (not in picture). The ears, although we made a pair, we were not able to put it.

  1. Draw one side of a bat's wing [tail/ear/fang] on the cardboard paper. Cut and use as a template to make three [one] more. 
  2. Paint the wings [tails/ears]. Set aside to let it dry.
  3. Cut two wires, the same length as the wing [tail/ear]. Note: we didn't put a wire on the fangs.
  4. Tape one end of the wire in the middle of the wing [tail/ear] (unpainted side).
  5. Put glue on another wing [tail/ear] (unpainted side) and stick it on the wing with the taped wire. Painted sides must be on the outside. This will be the first wing.
  6. Repeat 4 & 5 for the second wing.
Step 2: Make the pompom. Because I botched my pompom, please refer to this site on how to make the pompom: Halloween Pompoms.

Step 3: Stick the attachments to the pompom. Secure the attachments with a glue stick.

Step 4: Glue the eye (or eyes) and fangs on the pompom.















Friday, October 14, 2016

Lemon Thyme Chicken

I love cooking for my family, which made me a recipe book hoarder. Every week, I try to cook dishes we haven't tried before. This week's trial dish is Lemon Thyme Chicken. But to be honest, the recipe I looked at didn't really use lemon nor did it use thyme. The recipe called for calamansi and tarragon, ingredients that I don't have on my pantry. So I made do with what's available and hoped that it will turn out great.

While we were eating the dish, my husband asked me what herb I used. I felt self-conscious because I didn't really know that thyme and chicken is a good combination so I searched for recipes online for chicken with thyme. And boom! Lots of Lemon Thyme Chicken recipes are available online. LOL! At least my instincts were right to combine lemon and thyme.

Anyway, let's get to the recipe.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Marinading time: 2 hours
Baking time: 90 minutes at 200C (I'll explain my baking time later on)

Ingredients:
  • 4 pcs of chicken quarter leg
  • salt
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • olive oil
  • thyme
  • lemon juice from 1 lemon


Directions:

  1. Rub enough salt on each quarter leg. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl, mix minced garlic, thyme, lemon juice, and olive oil. I have no idea how much thyme and olive oil I used, but a rough estimate of 1 tbsp for thyme and 2 tbsps for olive oil.
  3. Line chicken in a shallow pan and cover each quarter leg with the marinade. Cover with an aluminum foil and let it sit for 2 hours. You can change the marinating time according to your preference.
  4. The chicken marinating for two hours.
  5. Bake each side for 15 minutes with the cover. Remove the aluminum foil and bake each side for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remember to remove excess liquid before turning the chicken.

Lemon Thyme Chicken


Baking time explained:

I have a small electric oven, with a maximum temperature of 250C. I did not use the maximum temperature because this is what I'm used to. If you have a bigger oven, adjust your temperature and time accordingly.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Beef in Mushroom Sauce

I tried a couple of similar recipes, but this is by far the best I've cooked yet. And you know what the best part of this is? I didn't plan to cook it. We just had a few strips of sirloin left so I decided to look for a good beef recipe. I saw a recipe from Kawaling Pinoy but I ended up not using the recipe at all for two reasons: (1) I don't like using flour in sauces, and (2) I tried using cream before and I wanted to try something else. I did, however, used the idea of searing the beef. I always slow cook the beef to make it tender, but doing this still gave me tender strips of beef.

This recipe is quick and easy to make. It took me an hour to prepare and cook. 

Ingredients:
  • 500 grams beef sirloin, cut into strips
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 can cream of mushroom sauce
  • 1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
  • 1 head of onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • water, half a can of the sauce
  • butter, for sautéing
  • pure olive oil, for searing

Preparation:
  1. Combine salt, pepper, and beef in a bowl. Make sure that the beef strips are evenly coated. Set aside.
  2. While the beef is marinading, chop onion and mince garlic.
  3. Ready the mushrooms, mushroom sauce, water, and butter.

Cooking directions:
  1. Drizzle a non-stick frying pan with olive oil. Sear beef strips on each side. Do it in batches so you can cook the beef nicely. I don't really know how many minutes I did on each side, I just placed the strips one by one, waiting for a few seconds, then flipped each strip. I waited for another few seconds before I removed it from the pan.
  2. On the same pan, cook the mushrooms. Set aside.
  3. Still on the same pan, melt the butter and sauté the onions and garlic. 
  4. Add the mushroom sauce. 
  5. Add in water a little at a time, making sure that you don't dilute the sauce too much. 
  6. Add salt to taste.
  7. Fold in seared beef and cooked mushrooms. Remove from heat.
Note:
I updated this post to put in additional details on the ingredients.




Saturday, September 24, 2016

Book Quote: One to Take by Tia Louise

I love reading. Reading helps me escape, feel, think, and learn. I'm the kind of reading who highlights (only on ebooks, not on paperbacks!) quotes that spoke to me or connected with me. And sometimes, I use those quotes to make fan arts.

Here is something I made from One to Take. "I see her lovely wings extending as she takes flight, and my heart is left behind in my chest, hollow and dead."

Using Faber-Castell Connector Pens

PS:
I'm not going to write anything about the book, but in case you want to check it out, here is the link: https://amzn.com/B01C0SQEZE. And if you want to check out Tia Louise, you can visit her website.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Make Your Own Origami Paper

My son loves to do origami. It was cute at first, we even encouraged him. But it came to a point where he's love for the art became wasteful. He depleted our supply of bond paper, his quiz pad for school, he even uses receipts to fold origami. So to solve this issue, we told him that he can only fold origami using a special origami paper, you know, the store-bought origami paper. The origami paper that we didn't have. Harharhar.

After MONTHS of nagging from our son, I finally told him that we'll make our own origami paper. So yesterday, that's what we did.


Materials:

  1. Old magazine
  2. Cutter

How to make a square:



This is just for those who doesn't know how to make a square out of a rectangular paper.

1. Fold one side of the paper in a triangle. Make sure that the ends are aligned.

2. Fold the excess rectangular strip of paper where the triangle ends.

3. Cut off the rectangular strip.


We made three different sizes to maximize the use of each page.

Large origami paper - use the whole page to make a square

Medium origami paper - cut the page in half and use each half to make a square

Small origami paper - use the excess rectangular strip for both the large and medium origami paper to make a square

Thursday, June 9, 2016

My Very Own Kitty Cat Shirt

I bought a bunch of shirts that I need to repurpose, and I thought, "Hey, maybe I can crochet something I can sew on the shirt." And voila, my very first t-shirt design. It's not perfect, both the cat applique and the sewing, but I'm proud of the outcome.


As usual, I scoured the Internet for a pattern that I can use. I found a bunch of interesting patterns, but none that I can use. So I just made one. Again, the pattern is not perfect.

Materials:

  • 3.5 mm hook
  • mercerized cotton yarn
  • tapestry needle
  • needle for sewing
  • thread
Stitches used:
  • chain (ch)
  • half double crochet (hdc)
  • double crochet (dc)
  • double crochet 3 together (dc3tog)

The pattern:

Make 63 ch, turn. (mark 30th ch, this will be the base of the cat body)

Row 1: Dc on the 4th ch from the hook. Dc on next 2 ch. Dc3tog, dc3tog, dc on next 3 ch, 3dc on next 2 ch, dc on next 3, dc3tog, dc3tog. Dc all the way to st before marker (31st ch). This is the tail. Dc until the end. Turn.

Rows 2-4: Ch 3. Dc on same stitch. Dc all the way to second to the last stitch. 2dc on last stitch. Turn.

Rows 5-10: Ch 3. Dc until the end. Turn.

Rows 11-14: Dc3tog. Dc all the way, leaving 3 st for dc3tog at the end. Turn.

Rows 15-17: Ch 3. Dc until the end. Turn.

Row 18: Ch 3. Dc on same stitch. Dc all the way to second to the last stitch. 2dc on last stitch. Turn.

Rows 19-20: Ch3, 2dc on same stitch. Dc all the way to second to the last stitch. 2dc on last stitch. Turn.

Rows 21-24: Ch 3. Dc until the end. Turn.

Row 25: Dc3tog. Dc all the way, leaving 3 st for dc3tog at the end. Turn.

Rows 26-27: Ch 1, hdc. Dc all the way, leaving to 2 st for hdc and sc. Turn.

Row 28: Ch 1, hdc. Dc on next 4 st, hdc, sc, hdc, dc on next 4 st, hdc, sc. Turn.

You will now start working on one of the ears. Since I forgot to write down this part, I'm not sure if this is how I worked it, I can't really see the end stitches since I've already sewn my cat applique on the shirt.

Row 29-31: Dc2tog on each end, dc in the middle.

Row 32: Dc2tog. Fasten off.

To work on the next ear, repeat rows 29-32.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Coffee Sleeve with an Enormous Heart Pocket

Continuing my obsession with coffee sleeves, I found this pattern on Ravelry (link: Open Heart Pocket Hot or Cold Drink Sleeve) and tested it out.



Materials:
  1. Yarn, two colors - I used acrylic yarns, with the red yarn thicker than the cream one
  2. Hook - I used a 5 and a 5.5mm hook
  3. Tapestry needle
Tips:
  • Use a smaller hook and yarn for the heart pocket, unless you want the pocket to be big.
  • The pocket I made has a tendency to spill its contents, so be careful when sewing on the heart applique.
  • Be creative, try other appliques as a pocket.

I won't go into the specifics of the pattern since I didn't deviate from it while I was working on my sleeve. Follow the link at the top of the post for the pattern.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Basket Weave Coffee Sleeve

My current fetish right now: coffee sleeves. They are extremely helpful, especially when I buy frappuccinos. I already made a couple of coffee sleeves, refer to this post, but I wanted a larger coverage on the cup. So I scoured the Internet and found this pattern: Basket Weave Coffee Sleeve.


So, this is what I made, but I made a couple of mistakes on this one. I'll expound on that one in a few.



Stitches used in the pattern (US terms):

  • chain (ch)
  • double crochet (dc)
  • slip stitch (sl st)
  • front post double crochet (fpdc)
  • back post double crochet (bpdc)

What you need:
  1. yarn - I used a thick acryclic yarn
  2. hook - I used 5 mm
  3. tapestry needle
  4. scissors
Notes on the pattern:
  1. Your base chain should be in multiples of 6 (or you can change it, depending on the weave size you want to make)
  2. Each "weaved" layer is composed of 3 repetitive rows.
The pattern:

Row 1: Make your base chain. Sl st to make a round. (I did 35. Yes, this was my mistake number 1. Please don't make the same mistake as I did. LOL) 
Row 2: Ch 3, this will be stitch 1. Dc on remaining stitches (base chain count - 1).
Rows 3-4: Ch3, fpdc in next 2 stitches. Bpdc on next 3. Continue alternating between 3fpdc and 3bpdc until you reach the end of your round (ending set should be 3bpdc). Sl st to top of ch3.
Rows 5-7: Ch3, bpdc in next 2 stitches. Fpdc on next 3. Continue alternating between 3bpdc and 3fpdc until you reach the end of your round (ending set should be 3fpdc). Sl st to top of ch3. (My mistake number 2: I only made 2 rows for the second layer.)

Repeat each layer until you get your desired length/height. You can also change the set of rows for each layer if you want.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Puff Stitch Bracelet


Found a pattern for a choker, but I made a bracelet instead. It's quick and easy to make once you get the hang of it. I made this in under 30 minutes, while watching the tube.


Materials used:

  • 8-ply yarn
  • 5-mm hook
  • tapestry needle
  • button
  • scissors
Stitches used (US terms):
  • chain (ch)
  • puff stitch (ps or puff st)
  • single crochet (sc)

It took me a couple of tries before finally getting it the line of puff stitches right. I didn't notice any turn in the pattern while I was doing the bracelet, but when I included a turn after each puff stitch, I finally got it right.

Note: Before writing this post, I watched the video to verify whether or not a turn was indicated. Turns out, there was a "turn" in the written pattern, but she used "sp", where sp means "spin".

I changed how I worked on the border: instead of working 4 sc on each chain after the puff stitch (remember, you make a puff stitch and then you chain 2), I worked 2 sc on the side of the puff stitches plus 1 sc after every pair of puff stitch.

Link to original pattern: http://jessieathome.com/puff-stitch-choker/

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Coffee Sleeve

I was looking for something to work on that was easy to do and takes no more than an hour to make to give as a thank you gift. I found this pattern (link) of a coffee sleeve. It was easy to make and the design was simple yet pleasing in the eyes.




Stitches used in the pattern:

  • chain (ch)
  • single crochet (sc)
  • single crochet 2 together (sc2tog)
Guide in working the pattern:
  • As stated in the pattern, work each row in back loops only - this is to create the ribbed effect.
  • If you started in a 2sc stitch, you'll end in an sc2tog stitch; and vice versa.
  • One side of the sleeve will always start (or end) in 2sc's, and the other side will start (or end) in sc2tog.
  • Total number of stitches made on each row should be base chain less one.
The pattern:

The pattern is really simple, work on your base chain (length depends on the yarn and hook used).

Row 1: 2sc, sc until last 2 stitches, sc2tog. ch1, turn.
Row 2: sc2tog, sc until last stitch, 2sc. ch1, turn.

Repeat 1&2 until you get the desired length/size.

Join ends using a slip stitch, but I stitched it together instead.

You need to invert the sleeve once you're done putting the ends together. I didn't flip it on the picture above, but this is how it's supposed to look like after. Pardon the cup used.


Saturday, April 9, 2016

Wired Little Owl Bookmark





I made these beauties (and more!) for my sister. These bookmarks are the same as this one here, but with a thin wire on the branch and using a smaller hook. (Pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-owl-bookmark)


So here's how I worked with the wire:

1. Curl the end of the wire, but don't close it yet. Leave a gap so you can insert it in one of the stitches.
2. Work on your base chain (45 ch). Insert the wire on the second chain from the hook - the chain where you'll do the first single crochet (in the pattern it says dc - UK terms - but I'll be referring to the stitches in US terms). Don't close the loop yet.
3. Line the wire along the length of the base chain. The wire should be on top of the yarn. Do a couple of single crochets, working over the wire and the chain. When it's long enough (about 4 or 5 sc), close the loop on the wire, making sure that it's still hooked on the chain.




Aside from adding a wire, I also worked the leaf on the branch, instead of stitching the leaves on the branch.

Make the first half of the leaf as instructed: ch 6, ss on 2nd ch from hook, sc, htr, dc. On the last stitch, you're supposed to make 4 dc's. Do the first dc. On the second and third dc, before doing the last yarn over, insert the hook (which has 2 loops) on the stitch where you want to place the leaf. Yarn over and pull through all the loops. Continue working on the second half of the leaf.

Don't get frustrated if the wire cuts through the yarn or if it's taking more time to work on a piece. I had several do-overs because of this. Just be patient and you'll soon get the hang of it.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Pocoyo's Unfisnished Hat


My youngest son loves Pocoyo so I decided to make him a Pocoyo hat. I thought for sure he'd love it. No. He. Hates. It. Takes it off as soon as I've put it on him. So this Pocoyo hat that is pictured below? I never really finished it. I'll probably re-use the yarn and make another project.



I used this pattern as my basis for the hat, adjusted the ear flaps, and added the back flap of the hat.

My changes on the ear flaps:

Rows 1: ch 3, dc on next 8 stitches, turn. (9 st)
Row 2-4: ch 3, dc on same stitch, dc until the end of the row. (10, 11, 12, 13 st)
Row 5: ch 2, sc until the end of the row (13 st)

Back flap:

From the "back" end of each flap, mark the 5th stitch. This is where your back flap will start and end. Your rows should have the same stitch count (7 rows of dc stitches).

Edging:

Sc around the hat.


And that is all I managed to make.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Tip #1: Is Frogging Always Necessary?

First off, what is frogging? Frogging is when you rip out and undo your stitches. Rip it! Rip it! Rip it! Get it?

I have undone a lot of rows on my previous works. It's tiring. It's annoying. It makes me want to leave the project unfinished. Then I got to thinking, what if I don't have to undo everything?

See this picture below? This is a blanket that I'm working on right now. On the first row, I made a mistake. There's a stitch missing on the first wave (right side). Can you see it? No? Me neither. I got cross-eyed just searching for that mistake so I can post it here.



To frog or not to frog? These are the questions I ask myself to help me decide before I undo my work:
  1. How many rows will I undo to correct the mistake?
  2. Is the mistake obvious?
  3. Can I fix it without undoing my work?
How many rows will I undo to correct the mistake?

Don't be lazy! If it's just a couple of stitches, go ahead and frog it! But if it's too much work, go ahead and ask yourself question number 2.

Is the mistake obvious?

There will be times that you won't really notice your mistake. You know that missed stitch on the first row of my blanket? I didn't even notice that I missed a stitch until after two rows.

Can I fix it without undoing my work?

If you can correct the succeeding rows and the mistake isn't that obvious, don't bother frogging it. However, if you can't correct the succeeding rows, you have two choices: frog it or leave it. If you can live with the fact that that mistake will carry on for the rest of your rows, then forget about frogging and just leave it. I always undo my work when I can't find a work around. The perfectionist in me just couldn't take it.

So there you have it. Unless your a perfectionist, it's not always necessary to frog your work.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Burlap-Crochet Napkin Holders




I was supposed to work on these napkin holders as a present, but wasn't able to finish them on time. I got the pattern here, there are two designs available on the page. For my napkin holders, I used the Pretty Points design.

Materials:
1. mercerized cotton yarn (2 strands worked as one)
2. 3.5 mm hook
3. tapestry needle
4. burlap
5. yarn/thread close to the burlap's color

I adjusted the pattern based on my personal preference and with the yarn I used. In the original pattern, worsted weight yarn was used. Since I didn't have that, I used mercerized cotton instead. I tried working on a single strand, but found it too thin, so I used two strands and worked it as one.

Another adjustment I made was for the "points". In the original pattern, the points were made using sc-2ch-sc pattern, I made mine into hdc-2ch-hdc.

Lastly, in the original post, hot glue was used to assemble the pieces. I wanted mine more durable, so I sew the burlap and the crochet piece together.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Yoda Amigurumi

So this is the continuation of my Star Wars amigurumi post. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the first post.

It took me a while to finish Yoda, but here he is. It's not perfect, he does not really look like Yoda, but I hope that my next work will be better.

If no mistake you have made, losing you are.

And here he is with the Stormtrooper.


Materials:

  1. Green yarn
  2. Light brown yarn
  3. Dark brown yarn
  4. A pair of eye beads
  5. Stuffing
  6. Tapestry needle
  7. 3.5 mm hook
Stitches used:
  1. single crochet (sc)
  2. sc2tog (join 2 sc together)
  3. Popcorn stitch
As with the Stormtrooper, I will not post the pattern. Pop stitch was used for the feet.

Next stop, Jabba the Hutt, as requested by my eldest son.