Cute little Critters and Happy Halloween!

 I'm not one for making fiddly things but some of those fiddly things are so cute sometimes I really can't help myself.  

As I have mentioned before I run a crochet group for the u3a and as such I have a display board at the u3a's monthly meetings.  I try to make the board look attractive to encourage people to join the group, I usually have a garland pegged to the top of the board which is mostly seasonal like the one below which I showed you last year in this post

This time I went a step further, along with the leaf garland I decided to inject a little bit of Halloween fun into the proceedings and this is where cute came in. 

The pumpkins are so easy to make and to be honest I had to stop myself  from making more, but I do have other things on my hook so I reluctantly dragged myself away from the creating of pumpkins and  moved on to the mice, I have been wanting to make some little mice for a long time just because I think they are so darn cute and this seemed like the perfect time.

Amigurumi is amazing but so fiddly, making the bodies is easy enough but it's the sewing on of ears and other appendages  that gets me, and so for the pink mouse rather than crochet the ear and sew it on I surface crocheted them straight onto the mouse, so much easier and they look ok I think.

I  had to have a hedgehog to complete the display, I'm still looking for a  more realistic looking hedgehog pattern maybe I'll try and design one myself but this one had to do and I think he looks cute enough.

This small display caused quite a bit of laughter at the meeting last Wednesday especially when I told the Chairperson that we had an infestation of mice in the Town hall she looked horrified and said, have you reported it! then when she saw the display she just burst out laughing and announced it when she was addressing the members, it's amazing what a bit of crochet can do to raise the spirits and bring a bit of fun the the proceedings.

I found the mouse pattern in this book here but ended up doing it my own way anyway, here are some cute mouse patterns if you fancy hooking up a few.

Little Christmas Mouse

Tiny Crochet Mouse

There are lots of great pumpkin free patterns, I used this one by Planet June and adapted the size by using different weights of yarn and hook sizes.  More patterns below.

Autumn Pumpkin Pattern by Bella Coco

Medium Crochet Pumpkin Pattern by crochet 365

Crochet Pumpkin Pattern by Petals to Picots

The hedgehog pattern I made is like this one here Easy Crochet Hedgehog by the Whoot but I have since found  one I like better and am going to make more using this pattern The Hedgehog Hedda by Yarnhild

Unfortunately a few days after my last Crochet group session two of the members who had attended the meeting came down with Covid, there had been ten of us in a room much smaller than I would have liked but the large room where it is usually held was not available.  I had to get in touch with everyone concerned and ask them to do a lateral flow test and to watch out for symptoms, luckily now 14 days later we are all fine thank goodness. 

The two ladies in question had attended a birthday party and they think that that's where they caught it.  They have been quite poorly despite having two doses of the vaccine, they had just received their boosters but obviously the effects of those hadn't kicked in, on the bright side they will be both super charged with antibodies and thankfully they are both on the mend.

Thank you for the lovely comments about little Mikey's solar system outfit, he is getting lots of use out of it apparently he has already attended two Halloween Parties and my daughter in law has organised a neighbourhood Halloween trail so he will be wearing it again this weekend. 

If you are celebrating Have a Great Halloween. 😊😘😘

The Solar System In Crochet

 When my daughter in law asked me if I would crochet the solar system for my grandson everything else was immediately put to one side.  She wanted to make a solar system Halloween outfit for him for the Halloween party at his nursery.

If you can remember back in this post Mikey loves the solar system, he knows all the planets and everything about them right down to the number of moons and rings they all have.

I immediately set about making little planets but wondered if anyone had done anything similar before.  Making small spheres is simple enough but the planets are all different sizes and colours and I thought it would be great if I could find a pattern to help me on my way. if I got anything wrong Mikey would soon point it out haha

I found one which seemed to fit the bill here however the designer stated that it had been published in a back issue of Simply Crochet so rather that just buy the pattern on Ravelry it seemed a better option to buy the magazine  and get a whole load of other patterns too. 

I thought that I had plenty of time to make these right up till the end of the month in fact but for some strange reason the Nursery had their Halloween party yesterday, so in the end it was a mad rush to get them finished. 

As you can see my daughter in law has made a great job of attaching them it looks as if Saturn's rings have become a bit wobbly in the process 😂 but Mikey is delighted and sent me a thank you video, I can't wait to hear all about his party.

It was so much fun making these and there are lots of space related patterns in the magazine so I may be making a rocket and a star cushion too.

I hope you all have a great weekend 😘😘

Click here to see the parties I will be linking to this week.

Snowmen a Ted and an Angel

 Thank you for all the lovely comments I received for the Haven Baby hat and a big thank you for the feature Rhondda.  I have got a few more patterns to write up when time allows, I know that I should do it straight away but honestly my time management is appalling, it didn't used to be, I found that when I was working I could fit more things into my day now that I'm retired it seems to be more difficult, maybe it's a case of well I can do it later there is plenty of time, the problem is there isn't haha

I have been making those snowmen I mentioned a couple of weeks ago and here they are, 

I enjoyed making them but I find that making faces is always my downfall I hope that the faces on these won't scare anyone off.  These are for N.H.A.P. and will be put into little Christmas stockings and given to parents who's babies are in hospital or are born around Christmas time. 

This is the pattern but I did tweak it as I usually do. 

I have made eight and I'm not sure if I want to make any more, I was thinking of maybe making some knitted ones too but I do have other things on my hook, poppies are still being made, I have started a Christmas Angel, I have seen a cute dinosaur pattern which I'm sure little Mikey would love and I want to make a blanket with wintery colours what do you think of this it's a Mosaic Pattern...

Sholach Mosaic Christmas Trees

by Abi McIntyre

I love it but I still haven't made up my mind, I want a throw that can be used for all of winter and not just at Christmas but I have left it too late for this year, unless I make something that doesn't take too much thought.

I had a Zumba class yesterday morning when I told a friend of mine that I was going to Zumba she said why!? and I'm thinking has she got a point, am I mad for doing Zumba at this stage of my life and then I thought not at all you are never too old.  I must quickly point out that this is Zumba Gold for the more mature person of course one can put as much effort into it as one is able.  This particular class is very popular and it's clear that these ladies have been attending this class for years because they all know one another, I'm a relative newcomer and stay right at the back out of the way haha. One of the ladies is 90!

Here she is all dressed for her 90th birthday celebration, they organised a Zumbathon  for 90 minutes, a minute for each year of her age and then had a lovely buffet for her afterwards, unfortunately (or fortunately I don't think I could have managed 90 minutes)  I had to leave half way through as I was visiting a friend in hospital.

The friend I was visiting, Jennie has had a stroke and it has affected her left side, it was heart-breaking to see her like that but she has a possitive attitude and hopes to make a full recovery, it will be a long hard road for her but I really hope that she does.  I made her a little Ted to keep her company...

I have made hundreds of these they are so handy to give as a little gift the pattern is here.

Visiting someone in hospital is not for the faint hearted in these Covid related times. You have to book an appointment well in advance as only one visitor is allowed onto the ward at a time and then you are gowned and gloved. I was sat there thinking how hot and uncomfortable I felt and it brought it home to me just how uncomfortable it must have been for the poor staff who had to work all hours wearing all the protective gear.

That Angel I mentioned  earlier is finished, it's nowhere as good as it should be but I think it's ok for a first attempt. 

A big thank you to Rhondda from  from Oombawka Design Crochet for sharing this free pattern.

This is Holly, you can find the pattern here. Rhondda has lots of other Angel patterns too and I can't wait to try another one these would be lovely to gift for Christmas don't you think. 😊

Well I think it's about time I got dressed and ready for the U3A Committee meeting this afternoon I'm ashamed to say that it's now noon and I'm still sitting in my pyjamas.🤦

Have a great weekend.😘😘

Click here to see the parties I will be linking to this week.

 

Haven Crochet Baby Hat

 Haven 
Crochet Baby Hat

This sweet little hat is made in the round with an appealing close textured stitch which is ideal for both Preemie and Newborn babies.

Sizes are for Newborn and Preemie.

Materials

Dk yarn approximately 20 grams for the Newborn size and 16 grams for the Preemie size

4.50 crochet hook

Newborn 

Pattern
Written in English crochet terms
Abbreviations
ch = chain
dc = double crochet (sc/us)
tr = treble (dc/us)
ss slip stitch.

Double Knit yarn 

Preemie 16 grams
Newborn 20 grams 

4.50 mm Hook

Crown

Make a magic ring

Round one - ch3 and 15tr into ring, ss to ch3 at beg of round. (here and throughout ch3 counts as 1tr) =16tr

Round two - ch3, *2tr into next tr, 1tr in next tr* rep from * to * around, ss to top of ch3 =24 tr

Round three - ch3, 1tr in next tr, *2tr in next tr, 1tr into next 2tr* around, ss to top of ch3 = 32 tr

Round four - ch3, 1tr in next 2 tr, *2tr in next tr, 1tr in next 3tr* around ss to top of ch3  = 40 tr
Round five - ch3 then 1tr in next 3tr, *2tr in next tr, 1tr in next 4 tr* around ss to top of ch3 = 48 tr

Pattern Rows

The hat continues in the round but turn at the beginning of each new round apart from the first.

The pattern consists of two rows; the dc row will always be on the right side.

Ist row  - all dc

2nd row  - 1dc,1tr,1dc,1tr to end

Round one - (right side) don’t turn 1ch, 1dc in the same space as ss, 1dc in each st, ss to 1st dc of round. 

Round two - 1ch, turn work (wrong side) 1dc in same space as ss, 1tr in next st, *1dc in next st,1tr in next st* rep to the end of round ss in 1st st of round.

Round three - 1ch, turn work, (right side) 1dc in same space as ss and each st to end of round ss to 1st dc.

 Repeat the last two rows until work measures approximately Five and a half inches finishing on a dc row right side facing, do not turn

Work a further 2 rows dc.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Preemie

Work crown to round four = 40 sts and then continue with pattern rows as above until hat measures 4½ inches. 

Work two further rows of dc.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Copyright © 2021 Linda Solaiman  All Rights Reserved.

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A Month Of Purple

 Once again I'm finding it hard to find time to write a blog post I'm trying not to completely abandon my blog like I have done in the past but as you all know writing a post can be very time consuming. I'm afraid my blogging is going to be a little bit sporadic but I am around reading and enjoying all your posts even if I don't write that many posts myself. 

World Prematurity Day is on 17th November and the colour chosen to represent this occasion is purple.

As I have mentioned before N.H.A.P. have a crochet, knitting and sewing challenge every month and for September the crochet challenge was for the group to make purple baby hats the target being 150, well that target has been well and truly smashed as the number made so far as I'm writing this is 473 and they are trying to get to 500 before the end of the month.

It's just a bit of fun but it really motivates you I have to say, added to which purple is my favourite colour so I have enjoyed every minute.

There's quite a mix of different patterns and as usual I have been playing around with different stitches. Pattern writing is very time consuming and not really one of my favourite things to do but I will get around to it and will publish them as soon as they are ready.

Haven Baby Hat

Yet to be named any suggestions welcome.😊

Little Treasure Baby Hat

I have made fourteen so far but I should be able to get a few more made by the end of the day.

The knitting challenge was for purple baby cardigans and I only managed one of those.

Jordan Baby Cardigan Pattern

I found this pattern on Marianna's blog and that's my to go to place  when I'm searching for baby knitting patterns. I find knitting too slow it has to be said and it hurts my hands unlike crochet which thank goodness doesn't affect me as much.

And finally I'm making poppies as the u3a knicky knack knitters and my crochet group are planning to make a poppy display for Remembrance Day this November. 

We are making them in red, purple, black and white to represent each of the different causes, the purple or Animal Poppy is to remember and and represent all the animals that lost or loose their lives during conflict.

We are still unsure as to how we are going to display these and it's not going to be a huge display as we don't really have a lot of time, but we will do what we can.

Just in case you fancy making some yourself....

Poppy Pattern

The large one as seen above.

With black, ch 2. 

Round 1: 12 tr in second ch from hook. Join with sl st to first tr. Fasten off and leave a 10” tail. (12) 

Round 2: Using red yarn, join into the top of any of the black tr.. Ch 3 (counts as a tr). 1 tr into the same stitch.

2 tr into each of the remaining tr. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. (24) 

Round 3: Ch 1. 2 tr into each of the next 4 tr, dc into the next tr. *dc in next tr, 2 tr into each of the next 4 tr,

dc in next tr*. Repeat from * to * 2 more times. Join with sl st into bottom of starting ch 1. (40)

Round *2 tr into each of the next 8 tr, slip stitch between the 2 dc of the previous row*.

Repeat from * to * three times. Fasten off . (68) 

The medium sized Poppy pattern (4 petals) is from Spin a Yarn

The small one can be found here on Ravelry

I managed to crochet another two hats which brought my total to 16 and the both targets were well and truly smashed. yay!

The challenge for October is for snowmen in knit and crochet the target being 150 of each I can see that total being well and truly smashed too.

Have a great weekend I'm off to find some white yarn to get a start on those snowmen. 😊