Hyphenated & Overextended

Welcome

I am a 30-something mom of three and wife of more than 11 years. I work nights doing data entry from home and attend college part time to get a degree in special education. I stay home during the day with my youngest son and my older son and daughter are twins in 1st grade. Please use a direct link if you want to include my items on your site. You may do what you want with the items you make from my free stuff with the exception of selling them on Etsy. I have an Etsy shop and don't want to compete with my own designs. I welcome comments and questions. Find me on Facebook for your chance to win Freebies!

Angry Bird

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

I must apologize for being away for so long, even though nobody probably noticed. Last May I went back to college. Quite the experience for stay at home mom of 6 1/2 years and 37 years of age. In July I began working nights for an online business services company. My standard hours are 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Let me just note here that my kids are all early risers whether it is summer or not so my wake-up morning greetings came somewhere around 6:30 each morning. While the summer months weren't too crazy I have been absolutely overwhelmed since the twins started first grade in August, especially since our youngest stopped napping about two weeks later. So much for my nap. In addition to my job, my school, staying home with my just-turned-three-year-old, managing the school and extracurricular schedule for two 1st graders, I was asked to join the strategic planning committee at my children's elementary school. I felt honored to be asked and took that on as well. So, I have been just a tad busy and have been burning the candle at both ends. While I have made a lot of projects over the last several months I haven't spent much time promoting my little crochet shop or blogging.

I made my first Angry Bird this week. I found this wonderful pattern on Craftown.com . It is the first time in 7 1/2 years of avid crocheting that I have made a "single crochet" hat that I really love. The pattern is easy to understand and works of up quickly. I made a few minor changes to the eyes, brows and head wick.

Head wick changes: I followed the directions through round 8 but joined and fastened off at the end, leaving a long tail (16" or so). Instead of crocheting the yellow in rows 9 and 10 I tasseled them. I used 8" lengths of yarn folded in half. Then I folded them in half again to pull through each chain and make a tassel (here is a link to a video if you don't know how to do it, the same thing but with less yarn). After adding the yellow tassels I used the black tail to stitch the top of the head wick together, leaving the bottom part open to attach to the hat.

The eyes, I did the black and gray parts exactly as written but elongated the whites by using 3hdc in place of 3sc on each eye. Not much of a difference but I liked the shape.

The brows, I wanted some major brows for this bird so

Using F hook (I wanted the ends stiff)

CH 20

Row 1: SC in 2nd chain from hook across, CH1

Row 2: (BROW 1 ONLY) Turn, HDC in turn CH, HDC in next two, SC across. CH1

(BROW 2 ONLY) Turn, SC in turn CH, SC in next 16, HDC in last three. CH1

Row 3: Turn, SC in turning CH and across. Fasten off, leave long tail to stitch to hat.

I stitched about 14 chains down and left the last 5 to poke out like the bird on the game.

I made this for a customer (the pattern allows you to sell your items) but now both of my boys want one and my daughter wants to know where the pink and purple angry birds are....lol.

The 12 Steps of Yarn Addiction

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 1 comments

I am a member of OA so am in no way making fun of 12 Step Programs, they really do work when you work them but I am feeling the pull of yarn today so had to post this.

The Yarn Addict

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 1 comments

A friend send me this PSA and I feel obligated to share it:

Public Service Announcement:

Yarn Pheromones

A recent study has indicated that yarns give off certain pheromones that hypnotize susceptible men and women causing them to purchase ungodly amounts of yarn. When stored in large quantities in enclosed spaces, the pheromones in the yarn causes memory loss and induce the gathering syndrome, similar to the one squirrels have before the onset of winter.

Sound tests have also revealed that these yarns emit a very high-pitched sound heard only by a select few, known as stitchers. When played backward, the sounds are heard as chants...'Buy me! Knit me! Crochet me!' Furthermore, pheromones seem to cause a pathological need to secret the yarn purchases away when one takes them home and blend them into the existing stash. When asked by a significant other if the yarn is new, the reply is, "oh, I've had it for a while!"

In order to overcome the so-called feeding frenzy effect that these yarns cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility or craft store, and use ear plugs to avoid being pulled into the hypnotic grip. It is also beneficial to enter these facilities without the presence of cash or credit cards.

Sadly, the addictive qualities of this compulsive behavior are cumulative, and are ameliorated only by the purchase of more and more and more yarn.

No cure is known at this time.

As a person who has recently "reduced" my yarn stash to one large Rubbermaid (tm) Bin and a two drawer end table I could totally relate to this email. Oh, I forgot the shopping bag full of yarn stashed in the corner and the project in my school bag. I do have two skeins sitting in the back of my car "for emergencies" as well. Then there is the other large tub of finished projects that I need to get listed on Etsy. Uh.....yes, I have a problem.

I am happy to say that I have recently passed my yarn addiction on to my husband who has taught himself to knit using videos on YouTube. He is about halfway through a "Dr. Who" Scarf and is working on another project for a friend. He keeps saying things like "damn you" to me as we walk past the yarn departments at Wal-Mart and Michael's. (insert evil laugh)

Tales of a potty training momma

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

I have three kiddos. They are as different in personality from each other as is possible. My boy girl twins are a couple of months beyond their 6th birthday. Potty training for them couldn't have been more different. At 28 months my daughter decided she wanted to use the potty. She spent most of that summer running around half naked and by fall she was wearing a pullup to bed and daytime trained 100%. Her twin brother didn't even consider using a toilet until he was almost 4 and it took lots of bribes, incentives and coercion to make it happen at all. After a few months he was perfectly willing to pee on the potty but wouldn't have anything to do with using it to poop. He was almost five before that happened regularly. To be fair he had some food sensitivities and we battled with chronic constipation but mostly it was just his personality.

I thought it was mostly a boy/girl difference so when our youngest began creeping up on 2 years old I didn't think much about potty training. I figured it would be a while before he was at all interested but I was determined not to let any window of opportunity pass me by like I did with his big brother.

Well, one evening about 6 weeks ago the twins were playing in the tub together and Chance wanted to get in too. The minute his toe touched the water he started tinkling. I told him to stop and he did....much to my amazement. I stood him in front of the toilet standing on my feet so he was tall enough and he peed in the potty. The next day we went out and bought underwear.   I was determined to do this without disposable training pants as I truly felt that they aided and abetted Christian's desire to NEVER potty train. We tried all in one training pants, we tried underpants with plastic liners over the top, nothing kept him from leaking when he peed. This child drinks a ton and there just wasn't enough absorbency.    I made a decision to do bottomless potty training even though it was winter and our hard floors tend to be cold, especially in the mornings. I figured he communicated well enough to let me know if he was too cold. We decided that he would be naked or in underpants at home and in disposable training pants when we left the house for the first couple of weeks. It worked out great.   He then moved to underwear when we left the house. Six weeks later he is almost completely accident free only wearing training pants when he is sleeping. I figure with as many fluids as this little man drinks it will be a while before he is consistently dry, even at naptime. Sleep time in not something I am worried about. I figure we went from using about 160 diapers a month to using 30-40 pairs of training pants. Big time savings. Often he wakes up dry from nap and can wear the same ones to bed at night.

We bought a very basic potty. It is a little frog. It doesn't have any gadgets, it doesn't make noises, it doesn't light up. The best part of the potty is he sits on it and gets down to business instead of playing with gadgets. He will pee and poop on the potty if he is out of the house or if he is playing upstairs. He doesn't like standing on a footstool because it doesn't feel secure to him and his is only an inch or two short for all but handicap toilets so he stands on my feet or daddy's feet. If we hold his hands he will use a regular toilet seat to poop as well. It is an amazing sense of freedom.

The point of this post is to share the interesting things you are willing to do when your toddler is successfully potty training.   About two weeks into this quest Chance and I left early to get the big kids from school. We went for a walk. While I was pushing the stroller the the cemetery that neighbors the school (no joke) Chance looked at me and with urgency in his voice said "Mommy go pee!"   At this point we were about 3 blocks from home, only a block from school but you have to show ID and sign in when walking in their door and he wasn't good at holding yet. I looked around in a bit of a panic, coming to the realization that if I let him pee himself then we would most likely have a setback in addition to the need to clean the stroller. I spotted the old oak tree in the northwest corner of the cemetery. No one was around, plots were spaced a distance away and I, with no hesitation at all, pulled my little man out of the stroller stood him on my feet and told him to pee on the tree.   Much to my amazement he did exactly that.   I knew we were on the road to success.

So today, we spent the day on the great Mickey and Minnie Mouse quest. My parents took us to Walt Disney World in November and every since Chance has been Mickey obsessed. Just this week he decided that Mickey and Minnie are indeed a pair and has been asking for a "Mimmie".   My mom took pity on him this morning and decided that he needed a Minnie Mouse.   We left the house and headed to Wal-mart first not a Mickey and Minnie in the place. Off to Target we go to be disappointed yet again. Babies 'r Us failed us as well. We took a break and at lunch at Mimi's cafe (we were on a Mimmie quest after all) and then headed to Toys 'r Us because BRU assured us that TRU carried the plush dolls. However, when we arrived there were none to be found.

Geographically we were now across the street from THE MALL (evil music plays in the background). At this point Chance was just wiped from being out and about and it was quickly approaching nap time so my mom stayed in the car with him and I ran inside to the Disney Store. Finally! PAYDIRT!   Ten minutes later I trotted out to the car triumphant with nine inch Mickey and Minnie in hand.   Fifteen minutes after we got on the road to home (a thirty minute drive) he gave it up and crashed. When we arrived at Grandy and Poppy's house I carefully unbuckled his carseat, slid his limbs free and lifted him out of the car. I took one step toward the house, the wind kicked up and Chance woke up crying. This is not a child who wakes up happy. He looked at me and said "go home". So we headed to my car, when he said "go pee", I turned to take him in the house and he cried "go home". My parents live out in the country so I looked at the boy and and asked him "do you want to pee here?" His reply was a resounding "yes".   We dropped his drawers and he proceeded to pee on the tire of my car!    There are moments in parenting when you just don't push the buttons of a tired two-year-old.

So, for today those are our Adventures in Potty Training.   I am sure that I will have more interesting tales before the spring and summer are out.

And for good measure here is daddy's favorite potty training moment. He was so proud to see his youngest "reading" on the throne.

Of course the marker tattoos are home done thanks to the 6-year-old twins

WOW!

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

When entering the world of digital scrapbooking you just can't be aware of all the goodies that are out there. There are so many artists and designers who offer freebies on their blogs. I am working on my very first scrapbooking kit right now. Could you possibly imagine that it might be crochet themed? LOL. I am having a lot of fun getting backgrounds together using photographs. I am also trying to learn how to use the tools in my design program.

As the wife of a graphic designer I didn't want to settle for a ready made scrapbooking program. Instead we opted to get Photoshop Elements 8 (the newest version available at the time). It was a fantastic investment. Although my husband laments regularly that we don't have a full Photoshop version for his Mac he agrees that Elements is perfect for my needs.

I have been crazy busy with hat orders the past couple of weeks. Not a complaint but an explanation for my absence on my blogs. I should have a large order finished tonight and will get to the next one tomorrow.

While I am learning some of my favorite sites are:

Scrap Girls
Shabby Princess
Craft Crave (list of freebies)

There are so many others that I have run across in the past year or so. I will try to share when I come across them.

Just a couple of my more recent pages. Nothing too elaborate yet, like I said I am still learning.

Branching Out

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

Just wanting to warn you all that things are getting ready to change...for the better I hope. I will continue to keep my weight loss blog separate but am going to start writing more about my other creative outlets and life in general. In addition to crochet I spend a lot of time doing digital scrapbooking. I am far from a pro at this and am just really beginning to learn the good parts of using Photo Shop Elements to design my pages but can't wait to share what I do know. I also hope to share some free designs as well.

For today my adventure was cutting my own hair. What was I thinking you say? My reasoning was this, first we are completely broke so shelling out $20 or more for a hair cut simply wasn't an option. Second, every time I let a beautician touch my hair they manage to do the exact opposite of what I tell them I want. Third, my super long very thick hair has begun giving me headaches and after a while even dinks at my neck and shoulders.

So, my mom has been telling me for years about layering your own hair by putting it into a ponytail and cutting the ponytail off. Well, that wasn't enough information for me to go on when considering such a drastic move so I began to research.

I found this blog Pony Tail Hair Cut and followed her easy instructions. I couldn't be more pleased. I didn't lose any length off of my hair (which my two year old loves to play with) but I got lots and lots of weight off of it. I cut a ponytail that was just a tiny bit over 11 inches off of my head. So here are my before pics, I forgot to take some just before. The one in the hat is from last week. My hair was basically all one length with a tiny bit of tapering in the front. The ones with the baby are from this afternoon. When he gets up from nap he sits with me and plays with my hair for a while.

Here are the after pictures. I was very happy with the results. Keep in mind that these are freshly showered and blown dry pics. I haven't done a bit of styling yet. Don't forget the face is make-up free and I was taking a picture of myself which explains the odd angle...I have NO explanation for the odd expression though.

In protest

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 37 comments

Of sleeveless Easter Dresses? This year should be better than most since Easter falls a little later than usual but those darn egg hunts are always so early in the morning. My poor daughter invariably freezes her little arms off or we are desperately running around trying to find her a jacket and she ends up in something that just doesn't show off her Easter prettiness to advantage. This year I decided (finally) to rectify the situation.

The pattern to the pink shrug is available on Etsy.

V-Stitch Shrug

V-Stitch = (dc, ch1, dc ) in same chain or space

Pattern can be adjusted to any size by adding multiples doing multiples of 3 + 5.

Any weight of yarn can be used but I prefer a light worsted weight yarn (4) like Caron Simply Soft. This shrug is so comfy and versatile. Super easy pattern to follow.

I used about 1 1/2 skeins of Simply Soft for this shrug. I used an I hook but crochet tightly so if you crochet more loosely you might use an H hook.

The sweater in the picture is a size 6/7.

I am writing the directions out that I used exactly. Again, this is easy to adjust. You merely make a chain long enough to stretch from your desired sleeve length on one arm to the same spot on the other. Arms out like a T.

Chain 164

Row 1. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across
Row 2. Chain 5, turn, (dc, ch1, dc) in 3rd sc (first V-stitch made), *skip next 2 sc, V-stitch in next sc,* repeat from * to * across, dc in last SC.
Row 3-5. Chain 3 (counts as dc) turn, *V-stitch in ch 1 space of V-stitch in previous row*, repeat across. Dc in last DC.
Row 6. Ch 1, turn. Sc in each dc and ch 1 sp across
Row 7. Ch 1, turn. Sc in each sc across.
Repeat rows 2-7 until desired length. (4 times total for size 6/7). Fasten off.

Fold last row to meet starting row with right sides folded to the inside.

Make sure corners are matched. Join yarn through both loops at right corner and ch 1, sc through both layers in each sc across about ¼ of work. For me that was 45 sc. Fasten off. Now flip work so you repeat the same thing from the opposite corner. Fasten off.

Turn sleeves right side out. Top and bottom match right now and it doesn’t matter which you join in.

Round 1. Join yarn about halfway between the two sleeves at edge. SC around entire edge. Join.
Round 2*. Chain 3, dc in same as join, *dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next*, repeat from * to * around. Join. Repeat until ruffled edge is desired length. It only took me 2 rounds for the look in the photograph.

Sleeve edge

Join to back of sleeve edge.
Round 1. SC evenly around sleeve edge (36 sc for size 6/7)
Round 2-4. Ch 1, sc in same, sc in each stitch around (repeat 2 times or until desired length of cuff is reached). Fasten off.

Repeat for other sleeve.

Weave in all ends.

I haven't tested this pattern yet so please let me know if there are any mistakes or if you need clarification.

6 days 'til Christmas....I got a wild hair

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

To make house shoes for my crazy kids. We have hard floors throughout our house and in the winter they can be very very chilly. Since this is a very lean Christmas I decided to fill out the gifts with some house shoes for the kiddos. I hit my yarn stash and browsed the internet for inspiration.

Toy Story madness has encompassed all three children so my first thought was to make them each something TS related. However, the more I thought about it the less I liked the idea. For our oldest son, though, cowboy boots seemed to be calling me. The twins will be 6 next month and somehow my husband and I seem to breed large footed children so try as I might I couldn't find a free cowboy boot pattern over a 24 month size. I decided to create my own. Keep in mind that this pattern hasn't been tested but I did write it out as I went along and used it to create the second boot.

Big Kid Cowboy Boots

Children’s size 13-1 (to adjust a size down use a J hook and a single strand of bulky yarn like Homespun)
Materials:

Simply soft brown (1 skein rolled into two balls) simply soft black ½ a skein rolled into two balls.
Entire pattern is worked using two strands of yarn.
K hook

Sole
Round 1: With black, ch 14, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 7 (9), hdc in next, 2 hdc in next, 5 hdc in end ch. Now working down opposite side of starting ch, 2 hdc in next, hdc in next, sc in next 7 (9), 2 sc in next.

Round 2: 2 sc in first sc of last rnd, sc in next 10 (12) sts, (2 sc in next, sc in next) 3 times, sc in next 9 (11), 2 sc in next, sc in next.

Round 3: 2 sc in next, sc in next 11 (13), (2 sc in next, sc in next) twice, (sc in next, 2 sc in next) twice, sc in next 11 (13), 2 sc in next, sc in next, join.

Round 4: Ch 2, 2hdc in same as join, hdc, 2 hdc, hdc in next 13, (2 hdc in next, hdc in next 2) four times, hdc in next 12, 2hdc, hdc, 2hdc, join.

Round 5: Working in back loops only: Ch 2, hdc in same, hdc, 2hdc, hdc in next 2, 2sc, sc in next 14, (2hdc, hdc in next 2) 4 times, sc in next 13, 2sc, hdc, hdc, 2hdc in last, join. Fasten off.

Round 6: Join brown to sole in stitch to the right of fasten off. Ch 1, hdc in same, Hdc in each around. Join

Round 7: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 23, hdc dec twice, hdc in next three, hdc dec twice, hdc in next 3, hdc dec twice, hdc in next 18. Join

Round 8: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 16, hdc dec twice, hdc in next 3, dc dec 5 times. hdc in next 3, hdc dec twice, hdc in next 16. Join.

Round 9: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 18, (dc 3 tog) 4 times hdc in next 13. Join

Round 10: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 16, (dc 2 tog) 4 times, hdc in next 11. Join.

Round 11: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 15, (dc 2 tog) 3 times, hdc in next 10. Join.

Round 12: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 15, dc in next 2, htr in next, dc in next 2, hdc in next 8. Join. Fasten off.

Join black to center of heel (5 from join)

Round 13: Ch 1, hdc in same. Hdc in next 11. DC in next 2, (DC, ch 3, DC) in next, DC in next 2, hdc in next 12. Join. Fasten off.

Round 14: Join Color B to previous join.

Round 15: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 11. Sc in next 9 (in ch not ch 3 sp) hdc in next 12. Join.

Round 16: Ch1, hdc in same, hdc in next 12. Sc in next 8, hdc in next 12. Join.

Round 17: Ch 1, sc in same, sc in next 5, hdc, dc, dc, htr, dc, dc, hdc, sc in next 8 hdc, dc, dc, htr, dc, dc, hdc, sc in next 5. Join.

Round 18: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 6, dc, dc, htr, dc, dc, hdc in next 5, skip 1, hdc in next 4, dc, dc, htr, dc, dc, hdc in next 6. Join.

Round 19: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 7, dc, dc, htr, dc, dc, hdc in next 9, dc, dc, htr, dc, dc, hdc in next 5. Join.

Round 20: Ch 1, hdc in same, hdc in next 6, 2 hdc, dc, 2dc, htr, 2dc, dc, 2hdc, hdc in next 7, 2 hdc, dc, 2dc, htr, 2dc, dc, 2hdc, hdc in remaining 4. Join. Fasten off.

Weave in all ends.

Princess Slippers

For my little princess I decided that ballet slippers would suit best. I grabbed two of her favorite colors and whipped this pair out in a flash.

I was not at all sure about the colors but when my 10 year old Goddaughter saw them she said they were "so beautiful" so I won't worry.

This is not an official pattern because I didn't write it out as I went but basically :

Ch 8, HDC in second from hook and in next 6, 3 hdc in last working on other side of foundation chain hdc in next 6, 3hdc in last, sl st to join to first hdc.

Ch 1, sc in same, sc around. Join.   Repeat until half the length of foot.

Ch 1, sc in same, sc across half of previous row. Ch 1, turn, sc in same, sc in each. Repeat for same number of rows as first half. Fold flat in half and whip stitch on "wrong" side of seam.   Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Join second color at back of heel. Ch 1, HDC in same HDC evenly around opening.   Join.

Ch 1, HDC in same, HDC to "corner" of foot opening, hdc 2 together (decrease), hdc to next "corner" hdc 2 together (dec) hdc around. Join.

Ch 1, sc in same, Ch 40, sl st in 2nd from hook and sl st in each sc in same st as ch 1, Ch 40 (again), sl st in 2nd from hook and sl stitch in each. SC in next ch at base, sl st in next. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Again, I haven't tested this pattern. It is about a size 12 little girls' shoe.

Embellish with little flower or button.

Mommy's Little Monster

For my little monster who just turned 2 TODAY I found this adorable Abominable Baby Slippers pattern floating out there. The problem was, again, that my children seem to have huge feet and my just turned two year old is wearing size 8 shoes. So I took inspiration from the linked pattern above and modified the booties for my little man. I added rounds and increases to the sole and used her pattern to do the loop stitches. Then I just used rounds of SC for the cuff and made my own claws.

So, I have managed to make 3 pairs of house shoes/ slippers in 2 days. It has been a ton of work but I did manage to use up most of my brown yarn stash. I hope the kids love them as much as I do.

The Christmas rush

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

I have been blessed this year to have lots of orders for Christmas gifts. It has allowed us to get a few more things paid for instead of being quite so worried about money. I finally finished with the paid orders last week and got to work on my own gifts. I finished the kids' teacher gifts a couple of nights ago and the kids took them to school yesterday. I completely forgot to take pictures though and they turned out great.

I decided to not only make something to keep them warm when they are outside with the students but to show their school spirit. Every Friday is spirit day at their school. Patience's teacher is amazing and has been teaching for something like 27 years. She is always dressed beautifully (even in jeans) and looks amazing. Their school colors are purple and gold. So for Mrs. F. I made a lacy scarf in Lion Brand Homespun yarn using Barrington (which is more purple than this shows) adding some small sunflowers to the ends using the color Sunshine State, I did use some Caron Simply Soft plum to do a shell edge around it. I made a purple hat to match and made a large sunflower that is detachable.

Christian's teacher is young and vibrant. I made her a sporty striped scarf with alternating rows of HDC chains and shells. 9 row sections in each color. I made a matching hat for her too in purple with highlights in yellow and a multicolored yarn pom-pom.

Goth skinny scarf

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 0 comments

Scarf measures about 2 1/2" to 3" wide depending on how tightly you chain and this one measured about 65 inches.

Supplies:

Caron Simply Soft yarn, in black of course. It only takes about 1/3 of a skein, maybe 2oz.

Size I hook

Yarn needle

Ch 13 (increase width by adding + 3 to the starting chain)

Row 1 (foundation): sc in 2nd ch from hook and across.
Row 2: ch 3 turn, *skip 2 chains, sc in next ch, ch 3, repeat from star across sc in last ch of foundation row.
Rows 3 to whatever length you want it: ch 3 turn, sc in 1st loop, ch 3, sc in 2nd loop, ch 3, sc in 3rd loop, ch 3 sc in 4th loop
Last Row: ch 1 turn, *2sc in loop, sc in sc, repeat from star across.

WHOO WHOO WHOO

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 1 comments

It almost always starts with a question from a friend. Can you do ___________? Then my mind gets to working and my fingers get to searching the net for inspiration and then these are the results. They have all been made over the past few weeks. I am loving the top ones with the quirky eyebrows but I really like them all. They are made with Red Heart Homespun and Caron Simply Soft yarns. It took me nearly three months to write up the Frog and Bear hat patterns so don't hold your breath on this one...lol. I hope to not make anyone wait too long. Of course you can always check out my shop and buy a hat....hint...hint.

Frog and Bear hat Pattern

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 15 comments

This pattern has NOT been tested. Please let me know if there need to be any changes made.

Adorable Frog and Bear Hats

I Hook
H hook
Sugar and Crème Cotton yarn in colors needed for your creation. For frogs you need black (or brown) and white, in addition to the color of the body. For bears you need a darker and lighter color. Instructions for 0-3 month size. H hook makes a newborn size. (I crochet tightly so if you crochet looser than I do you may be able to step down a size in hooks)

Notes:
Joins are made with slip stitches
lhdc= Long half double crochet

With I hook
Ch 3
Round 1: Make 15 dc into the 3rd ch from the hook, join with sl st into top of first dc (skipping the ch3)
Round 2: Ch 3, 2 dc into same st, *dc, 2 dc in next st. Repeat from * around, join with sl st in the top of the first dc.
Round 3: Ch 3, dc into same st, dc in next st, *2 dc in next st, dc in next 2 sts. Repeat from * around and join with sl st to first dc
Round 4: Ch 3, 2 dc into same st, *1 dc in each of the next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st . Repeat from * around and join with sl st to first dc
Round 5: Ch 3, dc into same st, *2 dc in next st, 1dc in each of the next 4 sts. Repeat from * around

(to increase size continue increasing by 1 dc in each pattern)

Round 6: Ch 3, dc into same st. Dc in each st around and join with sl st to first DC. Repeat for Rounds 7-10

Round 11: Ch 2, hdc into same st, 1 hdc into next st. *lhdc into next st, hdc in next 2. Repeat from * around. Join to first hdc.

Round 12: Ch 2, hdc into same st, hdc in each st around. Join to first hdc.

Round 13: (OPTIONAL girl edge) *Ch 3, skip next hdc, ss in next hdc. Repeat from * around. Join to first sc.   Fasten off and weave in ends.

Frog eyes. Using H hook

With black yarn
Round 1: Ch 3, 12 hdc in 3rd ch from hook. Join. Fasten off. Weave in ends.
Row 2:
With White
Join white yarn to the join in previous round. Ch 2, 2 hdc in same st. 2hdc in each of next 8 stitches leaving last 3 unworked.
Row 3:   Ch 2, turn, hdc in same stitch. *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next. Repeat from * around. Fasten off leaving at least 8 inches of yarn. You will use this tail of yarn to stitch the eyes to the cap.   (if you want smaller eyes fasten off after Row 2. For larger eyes add a 4th row increasing often enough for the eye to remain flat.

Whip stitch to cap evenly. For frogs I usually stitch them starting on opposite edges of the 1st round.

Bear Ears:   Using H hook
Using lighter colored yarn

Round 1: Ch 3, 12 hdc in 3rd ch from hook. Join.
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 hdc in same st. 2hdc in each of next 8 stitches leaving last 3 unworked.
Round 3:   Ch 2, turn, hdc in same stitch. *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next. Repeat from * around. Fasten off, weave in ends.
Round 4: Join darker color, Ch 1, sc in same st. *Sc in next 3. Sc in next. Repeat from * around. Fasten off leaving at least 8 inches of a tail.

Whip stitch to cap evenly. For bears I usually stitch them starting on opposite edges of the 2nd round.

Winter Weather

Posted by hyphenatedlady | Filed under | 1 comments

It is that time of the year. The holidays are fast approaching and the weather is beginning to turn cold.
Now that cold weather apparel is called for I have been busy fulfilling Christmas gift orders and orders for people who want to not only be warm but have some style when they are.