Clover Pom Pom Makers

I ordered my set off Amazon for a total of about $30 for all of them (I got a couple other things, and used the ad on program for a couple of them so I ended up saving money) Here's a link to the mid sized ones. 

The largest one makes a 4in pom pom, the smallest one makes about a 1/2in pom pom

I've tried a variety of yarns, and I've found that some are definitely easier to form once you make them into pom poms, but the makers are extremely easy to use. 

I will never go back to the cardboard circle method again. These are so simple, and the pom poms come out perfect every time. They look a little different based on what yarn you use and how thickly you wrap the yarn, but I'm gonna say that they are a uniform size and shape. 

I definitely reccomend purchasing these if you make pom poms for your crochet or knitting. Or even if you just want to make pom poms for other things. (My five year old son loves the pom poms and calls them his "earths". So, to him, they are planets.)

There's also several videos on Youtube that explain how to use them, because the instructions on the package are a littler weird. This one is my go-to

http://youtu.be/d2Ma-hgQIDU -for some reason, it won't let me post the actual video...

So, there you have it. Happy crafting.

Spider Web Barrette

It's me again.

By request, I made a spider web barrette for a friend of mine. Her only stipulation was that it have a purple spider on it, so that it would match some earrings she got for halloween.

And here it is:

Approximately 5.5in in diameter, finished. It has an alligator clip on the back. 

Here's how you do it.

What you need:

• Size E hook
• Sport weight yarn
• Enough straight pins to pin each spoke of the web
• A soft spot to pin to, a little bigger than the finished size of  your web.
• Glue mix (1 part glue to 1 part water. probably need only a teaspoon of mix)
• Barrette or bobby pin
• Spider (I used the top of a halloween spider ring)
• Hot glue gun with glue
• Glitter glue or gel
• Blow dryer

**picot - ch 2, sl st to first ch

Ch 4, sl st to first st to make a loop.

R1) Ch 5 (counts as dc and ch 2). *dc in next st, ch 2. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 3rd st. 

R2) Ch 6 (counts as dc & ch 3). *dc in next dc, ch 3. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 3rd st.

R3) Ch 8 (counts as dc & ch 5). *dc in next dc. ch 5. Repeat from * around. Sl st to 3rd st.

R4) Ch 10 (counts as dc & ch 7). *dc in next dc. ch 7. Repeat from * around. sl st to 3rd st.

R5) Ch 12 (counts as dc & ch 9). *picot. dc in next dc, ch 9. Repeat from * around. Sl st to bottom of first picot. Finish off and weave in. Trim off excess yarn.

When you weave in, try not to do it too tight, because you're going to want to stretch it out in the next step.

Get your straight pins out, and prep your pinning surface. With the wrong side facing you, hold the middle of your web with your thumb, and, angling the pin toward the center of the web, pin the top picot to your surface. Stretch the bottom spoke to the length you want it, and pin the bottom spoke of your web at the picot, again angling the pin toward the center of the web. Continue around, pinning one side, then the opposite side to make the web even. Like so:

my epic drawing skillz on the pc...

Mix your glue mix on a small plate or in a bowl. With your fingers or a paint brush, dab a drop of glue along each spoke and connecting piece of the stretched and pinned web. Cover the entire web, and blow dry with your blow dryer or heat gun. Unpin your web when dry.

If you're using an alligator clip like I did, you're going to want to wrap it in yarn or ribbon matching your web color. Just get the whole thing as covered as you can. Hot glue the web to your barrette, attach your spider, and let cool. I added some hot glue to one circle of webbing nearest the spider, and also to the outer circle, while using a purple glitter gel on the opposite rounds and on each spoke. Blow dry after you do this to set the glitter. The hot glue will make the web a little more stiff and durable.

And there you have it! Let me know if you make this. Pictures are always welcome.

Crochet Star

Hey, it's actually me again. I know, I know, I'm not around much these days. I've been working hard outside the home. Ah, well. I'm here now.

So, I follow the Crochet Geek on facebook and youtube. She occasionally posts these "what did you make with this pattern" things on facebook, and after trying out her crochet star- sirius pattern and thoroughly confusing myself because I was sleepy when I watched the video for the first time, I made a few pretty little barrettes.

Like so:

And one of me being super awesome wearing the mint barrette:

I basically followed Crochet Geek's pattern, but only used rows 1&2 to make the barrettes. Also, in row two, it calls for 3hdc ch 2. Instead of the ch 2, I did a picot, which is ch 2 then sl st to the first ch. That's how I got the pretty little points on the ends. 

The pattern I used/modified is as follows:

R1 = ch 3, sl st to beg ch. [2hdc, ch 2] five times to get the star pattern, sl st to first st 

R2 = sl st to first ch 2 space [3hdc, ch 2, sl st to 1st ch, 3hdc, single crochet decrease over next 2 sts] around. Sl st to first st. Fasten off, weave in.

You have the option at this point to do a little modifying if your star looks, for lack of a better word, flat. On the black star above, I used the tail of the yarn after I fastened off to then go up through the star to "tuck in" the narrow parts a bit more than they already were before I tied off and cut off the excess.

Let me know if you make this, and of course, pictures are welcome.

Life

Life has gotten very hectic for me. I'm still trying to do some crochet, but haven't had a chance to lately. I have gotten out and done some photography and some light editing of said pictures, but I haven't had the time to sit and, well, hook. **giggle**

But here are some of my recent photos. You can see more on my Flickr.

    

Droid Hat

I got a request from a friend to make a Star Wars Droid hat. So I found a pattern on Ravelry and got to it. It was fairly easy, but time consuming. I wanted it to be just perfect to I paid close attention to the lines and even checked some screen shots to make sure the different elements looked right (like the lense, all the little dots and vents and what not).

I am quite pleased with the end results. This is the pattern I used (Droid Beanies). I added the ear flaps, blue border, ropes and tassels per my customer's order.

Next up, for another nerd friend, a Link (from legend of Zelda) slouchy hat.

Stay Tuned

Shamrocks and clovers

A friend tagged me in a post on Facebook linking to this pattern: 4 Leaf Clover.

I decided to use it to make a couple shamrock bobby pins. Love the pattern and it was super simple and super fast. I ended up even putting a button in the middle of mine cuz I thought it would be cute.

Light green with a white button ---->

 <----Dark green with a green button.

Crappy cell pics. . . 

But yeah, it was super fun. I used some of my crochet thread and a G hook.

Picot Flower Bobby Pins

I completed my order for picot flower bobby pins yesterday. The little flowers take me about 12 minutes to do if I pace myself, are super easy, and fun to do. 

I use this pattern: Picot Flower 

You may notice that one of these things is not like the other ones... I did one wagon wheel posy as well. The pattern is in a book I have from a kit "I taught myself Crochet". Pretty sure copyright laws prevent me from reproducing that one without permission. It's essentially 8dc with a ch2 between each one for the spokes, then you make your petals out of the second color, then the pointy ones behind those are kinda like the picot petals of the other flowers without the picot.

In any case, I hope my customer is happy with them. She told me she wanted bright colors, and she liked pink with green.