Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Molar Coaster Pattern

Well, I finally re-wrote my Molar Coaster Pattern, so here it is.

Molar Coaster
Deidre Eyles, copyright, July 3, 2007



Yarn: I used white ww cotton, but you could use any yarn. You could even use thread for a pin.

Hook: suitable for your yarn.

Make an adjustable ring by wrapping the yarn around 2 fingers twice. Ch 2 (does not count as 1st st), 12 dc into the ring, then pull tail tight. Join with a slst in 1st dc.

Roots- Ch 11, (working in bumps on back of ch) sc in 3rd ch from hook and next 2 ch, hdc in next 3 ch, dc in next 3 ch, sk 1 st, slst in next st. Repeat.

Sc in next 2 dc, (sc, hdc, 3dc) in next dc, slst in next dc, 3 hdc in next dc, slst in next dc, (3dc, hdc, sc) in next dc, sc in next 2 dc, hdc in next 9 sts (along root), 3 sc in tip of root), hdc in next 9 sts (along root), sk 1 st, hdc in next 9 sts (along 2nd root), 3 sc in tip of root, sk 1 st, hdc in next 13 sts, 2 hdc in next 2 sts, (hdc, sc) in next st, slst in next st, 2 hdc in next 2 sts, slst in next st, (sc, hdc) in next st, 2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 4 sts. Slst in next 2 sts. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Enjoy!


PS. This pattern has not been tested except by me, so please let me know if you encounter any errors. :0)

Monday, April 28, 2008

more of my creations

Well, it was another busy weekend so I didn't get a chance to update my blog. Today is a dreary rainy day so what better time to Blog:0)

I thought someone might want to see some more of my creative moments! So here's a look at another creation of mine. Elann had a contest on their web site to create a bag. It could be a purse, tote, or what have you. It just had to be a bag of some kind. You could also use any yarn from their website, which meant it could also be felted, or not. By the time I came up with the idea (to create a purse to look like a flame to represent the Eternal Flame of Hope), ordered the yarn from them, and started designing, the contest deadline had arrived!...and GONE! Oh, well, I decided. I can always use a new purse :0) Little could I have imagined all the compliments I'd receive on it!

It's made of wool and felted. The dimensions were approx. 11.5" h x 14" w before felting and 8" h x 10" w after felting. I used a magnetic clasp (which I have yet to cover some how.), and made the handle to look like flames as well. The yarn was Elann -Peruvian Highland Wool and felted wonderfully!

Here's the front of the bag with the flap open.
Here's the back. As you can sort of see, the handles are made to look like flames as well.
I did sort of write out a pattern, but as of right now, it is pretty much chicken scratch notes :0) ! One day, I hope to make another one and write out the pattern properly.

Note to self: I think I finally figured out how to add photos properly!! (there's hope for me yet:0)


A couple of winters ago, I designed a beanie using all hdc. My daughters wore them to school and my 9yr old came home telling me that the kids LOVED them and that she told her class that if they wanted one, her Mom would make them!! She also informed me that she already had 3 orders and that several more kids were deciding what colors they wanted!! Yes, we had a talk about volunteering Mommy's services without her knowledge or consent. It turns out that one boy wanted blue with flames on it and one wanted orange and red. I made the blue one with flames and the boy who "ordered" the orange and red, promptly sent his back and ordered flames be added to his!! Now how cheeky can you get! I have NEVER received so much as a thank you or by - your - leave from the boy (or his parents!) who wanted flames added to his orange and red hat!! My daughter has also told me she has never seen him wear it. Guess what? He will never get another thing from me!
On the other hand, the boy who ordered the blue with flames will get anything he wants. His parents called to say thank you and he has thanked me several times himself! His parents have also told me he will not wear any of his other hats, including his favorite hockey team hats and will not take his hat off. He even wears it in the house! His Mom has to sneak it away to wash it! Now that's gratitude.
I don't have a pattern per say (sp?). I just made a beanie in hdc (staring with 8 and increasing as per the usual way) then used sc worked in the rows below the row I was working on and varied which row I used, to get different heights. (confused yet? :0).

Here's a pic of it. No, it's not a giant mushroom:0) That's my banister it's resting on. This is the one that didn't say thank you.


Well, that's about all for this morning. I hope to get some more pics this afternoon and post some more.

Friday, April 25, 2008

A new book purchase

I've been trying to work on a large crochet project, but with a new puppy in the house (he's an 18 wk old golden lab/ border collie/and maybe sharpei cross), it's been a bit tricky! It's a freeform afghan (or maybe wall hanging...) that has to be laid out flat to work on. He learned the hard way yesterday that Mum's crochet and yarn is OFF LIMITS!! He did ok until my girls got home. Then I had to rescue a piece of crocheted kelp! I got it back though, not too much the worse for wear.:0)

I ordered another book on Friday. Myra Wood's "Creative Crochet Lace" . I can hardly wait for it to arrive! I've been drooling over it for awhile now. I ordered it from Myra's site and received a very nice email the same day from Myra saying thank you for ordering and it was shipped that same day via Priority Mail! Thank you Ellen for blogging about her book on your blog. It was the info I needed to make the decision to buy!

The other book I have my eye on is Belinda "Bendy" Carter's latest book "Single Crochet A-Z". I really can't imagine 26 different ways to make a single crochet!
This will be my next purchase. I really like her book "Crochet on the Edge" ISBN -13:978-1-59635-113-4 / - 10: 1-59635-113-6. The photos are clear and the instructions are easy to follow.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Market bags, experiment

Well, a busy weekend is over and a new week on it's way! I didn't get a chance to blog over the weekend, as my allergies have started kicking in again and my head is so stuffy I can hardly think :0( Will give it a shot this morning anyway and see what happens :0).

I am getting more and more into Environmentally friendly crochet such as re-usable Market bags, beach bags, eco-friendly yarns, etc. However, I live in a small town and don't have a huge selection of stores where I can get yarn so I'm limited to what I can get in Walmart, Zellers and the like. So I try to make a difference for the environment any way that I can.

Here's a re-usable felted tote I made. It has a tree on it to represent the trees I'm saving by not using paper. It also represents what the Earth should look like with no garbage. Green and with lots of trees. The tree trunk and leaves are made to be pockets (note to self: make leaf pockets much, MUCH, deeper before felting! :0)

Here's the front before felting.


Back, prefelting.



Unfortunately, after felting, the details kind of melted together. :0(
See what I mean about the details disappearing? The trunk pockets are ok, but the leafy pockets shrunk and are now too short to hold anything! Arrrrgh!! The handles remained cool though! They are supposed to look like tree branches. I think this would be awesome in a non felted version.! hmmmm.... The hardest part was getting the colors I needed.



The multi color blobs were supposed to be bushes, also made into pockets, also too shallow.






The roots of the tree were so cool before felting! They were very 3-d and had a mossy green, pinkish novelty yarn mixed in for moss, flowers, etc growing amongst the roots.


However, after felting, they became indiscernible blobs! :0( (note to self: make one NOT felted!)



Even the base of the handles were made to look like tree trunks. This was before felting.


I still think I ought to make one NOT felted! :0)

Unfortunately I do not have a pattern for this. The bag itself was made with mostly hdc. The tree, bushes, etc was done freeform style and crocheted onto the bag as I went along, mainly because I hate to sew! In hind sight, the next one will be made and sew on after. The join as you go method was too tricky and time consuming :0(

Oh, well. Back to the drawing board!

It does make a very nice STURDY tote bag and I use it all the time.


Friday, April 18, 2008

Molar coaster


Uploading pics to the is proving very difficult! The first pic took over the whole page! Yikes!!
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Fun crochet!

Well, I'm starting to get the hang of this :0)

One day when my daughter had a dental appt, I was looking at the Dentist's card, which was in the shape of a tooth. Well, the wheels started turning and I got out my hook and some yarn and crocheted a tooth. I gave it to the receptionist who loved it and showed it to all the patients coming in! She even showed it to our Dentist who laughed and said "Oh, a Molar doily!" The wheels started turning again and a couple of days later when we were back in the office for another appt, I brought along my hook and some ww white cotton yarn and voila! The "Molar Coaster" was born!! Everyone in the office LOVED it, especially the receptionist who howled with laughter when I told her it was a Molar Coaster!! (pun definitely intended!!)

Here's the cavity free version now :0)


I hope to post a pattern for this later.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

My first blog

A la Carte- "according to the menu".

So how does this relate to my new Blog about crochet? As a crochet designer, I never know what interesting crochet "dish" my creativity will have on the menu :0). It all depends on my mood that day, hour, or even minute! (There's also the fact that, yes, even food and dishes can spark a new design idea! :0)

As this is my first ever attempt at blogging, you'll have to bear with me through the learning curve.

This will be a family friendly Blog. I have 2 small children myself and will not put anything on here that I wouldn't want them to read. My idea for this blog is to have a place to ramble on about crochet to someone who's eyes don't glaze over when crochet is mentioned :0) I also hope to learn how to post pics of designs I'm working on, new yarn finds and anything else crochet related. Once in a while I might stray off topic temporarily, but it won't be for long. (I promise! :0) I promise I will try not to bore anyone to sleep either!

Well, that's about all for now.
Back to designing!