Kitty's and Dino's

So I was in desperate need of a birthday present for my brothers girlfriend, the Hello Kitty lover. She had already "requested" a Hello Kitty hat but I didn't want to do something that predictable. So I searched and looked and looked and searched for a pattern that I thought she would love. Something to satisfy her want for Hello Kitty without actually being Hello Kitty. I saw quite a few hats that had cat ears, some that were really cute even, but nothing that screamed "this is it!" So, it was time for me to create my first hat. I wanted something with the look of cat ears, but nothing childish. And pink was an absolute have to! I decided to start with the basics from the tassel hat. Afterall, without the tassels the corners would just stick up, right? Right! So I started this hat in the same way. I tried a few different stitches but ultimately stuck with a double crochet. I nixed the cuff and just did as many rows as I needed for the right length. Next, earflaps. I knew I wanted the hat to have earflaps. Figuring out the location was a little tricky but I finally got it just the way I wanted. Then I did a single crochet around the entire hat. Now on to the braids. And finally a big, fabulous, obnoxious flower! PERFECT!! It took longer than I thought and there was a whole lot of trial and error but I was thrilled with the final result... and so was she! =) Since then i've even made one for myself. And my girls have both requested one as well.

The next hat here is a dinosaur hat that I made for my Noah Paul. He is completely OBSESSED with dinosaurs. Now I know most little boys go through a dino stage, but let me just say that I have never seen it at this extreme. He reads everything he possibly can about them then he runs around educating anyone who will listen. Even his teacher. =) He recognizes and knows TONS of dinosaurs by name, ones I've never even heard of. So needless to say, I was thrilled when I find a pattern for a hat that would reflect this passion of his. The original pattern for this hat is worked in a continuous spiral. Now I knew I wanted to add the strip in the body of the hat, so again, I opted to use my pattern for the body of the hat. The same pattern I use and love for most of my basic beanies. The spikes however were direct from the wonderful "Stegosaurus Dinosaur Hat" that I found on-line. This was the first time I had ever worked with such a small hook (an F.) It was a little tricky for me but in I finally got those darn spikes done. Ta-Da!! And it was well worth it. My little dino lover was very happy with his new hat.

You can find the pattern for the Stegosaurus Dinosaur Hat here. Thanks Sarah!

http://totsandbottoms.blogspot.com/2010/12/stegosaurus-dinosaur-hat.html

Pigtails and Minions!!

Confession time. I'm not a big fan of following directions. I suppose that's probably because of the little control freak that lives in me. I like to do things my way. I look at something and I wonder, "would I do this differently?" Sometimes it works out great and sometimes, not so much. This has been the case for me with crocheting. I get an idea about something I want to make and I go on-line in search of a pattern. But that little control freak refuses to let me follow the directions! For one reason or another I just have to change something! Sometimes it's a little something, and sometimes it's the whole dang pattern. The best examples I have of this are the pigtail hats and the minion hats. I found free pattens for both of these hats on-line and immediately fell in love. They were both adorable ideas!

So what did I change? With the pigtail hats I only changed the thickness of the cuff. I wanted it to be just a bit taller. So instead of just two rows of the front and back posts I did three. But with the minion hats I used an entirely different pattern for the body of the hat. Not that there was anything wrong with the pattern, I was just having a sizing issue. A more experienced crocheter might have known how to make all the right adjustments but no matter how many different things I tried I just couldn't get the size right. So I took the minion idea and made it work with an existing pattern I already had. And it was a pattern I had already used to make my kids hats so I knew it would fit. I did follow the pattern exactly to make the goggles/eyes. I just made it bigger on Noah's hat since he only wanted one eye. Chey wanted me to then of course make hers a girl. So hers got a bow. : )

I think overall, the little control freak has served me well. Yes, he has also caused me a few problems from time to time, but ultimately he's challenged me to do my very best at any and every task I undertake. And he pushes me creatively. : )

And finally I want to give credit where credit is due. If you are interested in checking out the original patterns for these two hats they can be found here:

http://gamergirluniverse.blogspot.com/2010/08/minion-beanie.html

http://www.allcrafts.net/fjs.htm?url=suzies-yarnie-stuff.blogspot.com/2006/10/suzies-stuff-kids-tassel-hat.html

Thank you ladies for these patterns and the super cut hats!!

My First Crochet Project

My mother-in-law is a crocheter and after seeing some of the super cute things she made everyone for Christmas I knew I wanted to learn. So she bought me a pack of hooks and some yarn and we had our first lesson. Within the first three minutes I wanted to quit. I couldn't even manage a simple chain. Good grief I felt awkward. But my sweet mom-in-law sat there and encouraged me (trying desperately not to laugh i'm sure) as I clumsily tried and tried and tried to make a chain. I finally got it. Horray! Next, she taught me a couple basic stitches (single and double crochets mostly.) After I at least had the basic idea, she left me on my own to just practice those over and over again. And once I was comfortable with those it was time to actually try and make something.

I'm a huge fan of scarfs, particularly super long ones, so lucky for me a scarf is a nice simple place to start. = ) I had to pull all my work out a few times before I finally found a width and a look that I was happy with. And while that was ridiculously frustrating I'm glad I did. Cause after about five days of doing nothing else (hey, it was my first project and I was still very slow and awkward) I finally had my scarf . . . all nine feet of it! I was THRILLED! It was fabulous! But what's a scarf without a matching hat? I was on a roll! So I found a pattern that I liked and got busy. The hat was a little bit trickier. I was calling my mother-in-law every day asking if I could come over so she could walk me through the next step. She's such a patient woman. = ) I again found myself frustrated at having to pull out all my work a few times. And my poor family was equally frustrated cause mommy kept "shooshing" them every time they tried to talk to me. What can I say? I didn't want to lose count. But eventually I had a hat. It wasn't what I had originally set out for but it turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!

So now I am officially "hooked." HAHA, pun intended. I havn't stopped crocheting since. = )