Conquering Crochet Friday - Many projects on the go

So it's been awhile since I posted one of these Conquering Crochet Fridays, and it's not for the lack of any projects on the go.
As in my title there are possibly TOO many on the go!

Though I'll let you be the judge of whats too many.

 But first up, a finished crochet project from months ago which I never got around to sharing  
(man that line is becoming a bit of a broken record!)

My first attempt at a garment in crochet....

Pattern: Aunt Jen's Sweater Pattern

I ripped and restarted this several times, and the end result has been incredibly small! So small I'm sure there's no way any of my babies would have fit into this....hence it's now a dolly cardy!

 

or this case a monkey cardigan!

And then fast forward to few weeks ago... what started with the talk of a NZ crochet mood blanket along on Instagram, ended up with me picking up my hook again and deciding to start on some hexagons as my weekly mood block

Pattern: Join as you go Hexie from Lucys Attic 24

I've wanted to do a hexie blanket like this for such a long time.
This crochet along seemed to be the perfect opportunity to start.
I think we're in week 5? so I'm a bit ahead.....but hey what can I say..

it's addictive!

Then because I was initially diligent and sticking to my one Hexie a week ( only lasted 3 weeks ) I needed some more crochet to do in the between days, and thats where this was created...

 

This is destined to be a cushion, as I feel like I need something to brighten up my drab brown and beige lounge scheme.
It so desperately needs to change, so I'm thinking beachy/bachy vintage?! 

This is to be my starting point, a rainbowy, bright and happy cushion!

And then....yes one more! The piece de resistance!

I ordered this yarn from RRHY's in September, (so worth the wait!) dreaming of crocheting it into a Hooded Capelet which I had mentioned before, and which the lovely Louana, ( seriously she is lovely and generous!) sent me the pattern! 
So Louana here you are, I have started it!

I have been a bit confused in a few places, but putting down my hook for a couple of days did the trick and now I'm well on my way!

I can't wait to finish this and take photo's of my little girl wearing this!

The red really does lend itself to Red Riding Hood! 
Maybe a dress to match? Cheesy?? nah....cute!! :)

Conquering Crochet Friday - The Boys Turn

So this week was all about my boys

It was their turn to get a pair of slippers

So using the same pattern as their sisters slippers

I started modifying the pattern....winging it! basically

The above pair, I used a 4mm hook, and kept increasing the foot in pattern....then back and forth....it worked...but it was slow with all that half double crochet...so for the rest of the foot I used double crochet......these are okay-ish...a bit baggy...but he's happy

By the time I got to the second pair, I thought I'd double the yarn and use a huge hook - 9mm!

These were fast!! Like in a evening fast!.....but as you can see a bit on the holey side....like...'big toes starting to poke through' side! 

But hey, I liked how quick these were to make....so I kept going, and a third and final pair were made - 2 hours!

This time I modified and played around with the look, since the lady who made the pattern contacted me and showed me this more masculine pair for the boys......I'm sure though there is a way I could have done it better.....but it works....even if it is a bit holey.

But the best part of owning a pair of these...

is making a running jump and 

slipping and sliding around the kitchen floor

Which is a sight in it's own right! Considering the size of my kitchen and the three boys trying all to slide at once!

So I guess regardless of the bagginess and holeyness, these were a success....and last night the boys wore them to bed....so they also make great bed socks too!

And since it's all about the boys,

 here are some neat patterns with them in mind

First this cute little cardigan

Boys Varsity Sweater

And then this one, which apparently is a great stepping stone from crocheted scarves and squares

Beyond Rectangles Cardigan

Then there is the must have skater boy beanie

Visor Beanie

Oh and this plushie would just make my eldest boys day!

Plushie Pet Platypus

And this is a bit random, but when I typed in a search for boys and crochet, this awesome fire blanket came up....so I just had to share!

Fire blanket

Conquering Crochet Friday - Winter Slippers

This week one morning, my little girl ran out of bed towards me, telling me she was "sooo cold!"  Her little bare feet on the cold floor was not helping.... I felt a smidge of guilt as I looked down at my warm felted slippers.....then it occurred to me that I could crochet a pair for her!

I had a really good look for an easy to follow pattern and one that was size adjustable.

I settled on the Minni slippers pattern from the Tuuma&Toimi blog as it's construction was nice and simple.....it starts with a adjustable ring and works in the round, then back and forth till you get the length of the foot.

Then I added this bow to each, which made my little girly girl smile.

She's smitten and now like the bunnies from last week, I have a list of orders from the boys...minus the bows.

And guess what? Remember the gorgeous Cape from my wish list last week....Louanna from NZ Green Buttons had already made one for her daughter last year, and she kindly sent the pattern to me this week ( along with some gorgeous postcards of hers ) 

I think I might need to make that Skeinz order....

or maybe I'll win it here?

And since winter has well and truly hit, here are some other slippers you could make to keep your own tootsies warm..

Womens Bunny House Slippers

 Aren't they cute?? and a bit of fun! and they also come in toddler and big kids sizes

And if that's not you're thing how about these...

Cute as a button Slippers

Both patterns are by the same lady, infact check out all of her patterns here.....they're all just as lovely

Or you may like a pair of Mary Jane's

Adult Mary Jane Slippers

And maybe if you're feeling generous.....

a pair of loafers for your man

Opa House Shoes

And because I just can't resist 

here's a cute pair of baby loafers too :)

Little Button Loafers

Conquering Crochet Friday - The Addiction of Crochet Bunnies

Hello Friday, it's that time again

 to show you what crochet creation I've made this week

Last week I was quite taken with the little bunny that Leonie made so last weekend the knitting was dropped, and I picked up my hook to make these cute critters. 

I started with the bunny first as that is true to the Easter Bunnies pattern from the Green Dragon Fly Blog, and quite quickly I could see how addictive these are to make...

And how fun it is to have one of your own......soon there were requests for a Hamster, Polar Bear, Platypus, Dog, Pig and Lion

(I've whittled that list down to three )

As you can see I started with the Lion first

Though he does look more like a hamster with a weird hairdo than a Lion! I used this tutorial to create the hair and this time I stitched on felt for the eyes with a little white stitch 

for his eyes to come alive.

Also a great technique that was used throughout the pattern was the magic loop, that replaces the chain 4 or 6 circle to crochet into.

It creates a nice tight circle without a hole in the centre, which is perfect when you're making toys like these.

Louanna from NZ Green Buttons has a great tutorial to show you how you do this.....its worth checking out as it makes such a difference to your end result.

And as my confidence grows, and I learn how to increase and decrease I'm dreaming about bigger projects....my Ravelry favourites list is getting bigger by the day, as I start evening the amount of knitting patterns with crocheted loveliness!

Here's just a few that have caught my eye this week.....

A bit of sewing and crochet combined with this sweet little purse

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbon-accent-bag

And with winter around the corner, I'm thinking of warm woolies 

like this cute tunic/dress.....it would be perfect layering over long sleeved tees and leggings for Lil Miss

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/girls-lace-pinafore

And lastly there's this...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hooded-capelet-2

Isn't that adorable!!

Conquering Crochet Friday - On a Saturday

We've all been rugged up on the couch in the last couple of days with some random virus, so really its a Saturday Conquering Crochet this week....

This morning feeling a bit better, I managed to get a few snaps of my latest Crochet project, some nice and easy Hair bows.

Using this tutorial, from Craftiness is not Optional, I tried my hand at some Half double crochet or Half Treble 

which ever you like to call it...

yes the dreaded US versus UK term for crochet stitches, another thing I've learnt that's important to check on a pattern before you get started.  Here's a good crochet stitch conversion Chart

And then there is also checking you know how to do a stitch, probably before you moan to experienced crocheters how difficult a half treble is to do!.....that will be why the orange bow in the middle looks smaller than the blue and red ones.....

apparently I had made up a stitch!  Ooops :)

But now I know the correct way, these little bows have been alot quicker and easier to whip up, and again pretty cute!

And it looks like they're also fun to use for dressing up your toys

What drew me to the little bows is this cute hat 

Source: creativeyarn.blogspot.co.nz via Laura on Pinterest

Being ambitious, I wouldn't mind giving this a go....it would look pretty cute on Lil Miss this winter. 
But I thought for now, the little clips were a wiser option.....maybe instead, for now I could try my hand at the bobble stitch and make this bow?  Though probably not as big as this.

Lululoves.co.uk - Chunky Bobble Bow

Oh and before I forget, I've also crocheted some Crochet Bunting Love a couple of weeks ago which you can see here 

Conquering Crochet Friday

Welcome to Conquering crochet Friday

What is it all about?
Well ever since I was introduced to crochet by my 
Mother in law (granny square royalty!),
 I have yearned to learn the art of Crochet.
Being a lefty, I struggled with it, trying to learn from my MIL as a righty, just wasn't working....so I gave up in disgust.
Instead I admired it from a far, wishing one day I'd get over my cack handedness ( yip! made up a word ) and conquer the world of all things crochet!

Fast forward several years, and a growing wish list of 
crochet projects later, 
I've finally developed my own way.....apparently I hold the hook like a knife ( very back to front ) and slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of this hookin.

But apparently I'm not the only one....I see there's alot of you out there, picking up your hooks and giving it go like me.....
so that's where " Conquering Crochet Friday " comes into play.

Every Week I will be writing a post, about my latest crochet project, tips I've learnt, and projects I'm coveting to complete one day!!
Maybe I could even rope in our local Crochet gurus to give up their trade secrets??? I loved to know what you think.....

Until then, here for the first week is a headband or three I made

Cute isn't it!
To be honest, I've made a bunch of these flowers before, a couple years back when I first started conquering crochet....it took a number of attempts though, before I got the hand of it, and like riding a bike I haven't forgotten.

You too, can find the pattern from Rose Hip Blog here, I made this with just the two repeats of petals, unlike the three on the pattern.

And for the headband itself...
I started with three equal lengths of chain stitch plaited together to form the band....which you can see below on my first headband 
   

It was okay, but I wanted to improve on this so I made another, this time chaining 61 chains, and single crocheting into each chain....starting with the second chain from the hook.
When I got to the end I chained 1, and single crocheted another row, same as the previous.  
 

 

And yes it looked nice.......but I had trouble making it using a crochet technique I learnt last week where on the first row you crochet into the bumps/back bar on the back of the chain st, which in turn creates a nice chain edge to the band.  See the below video for a explanation

 

So I tried again, this time using a 5mm hook to do my foundation chain and a 4mm to do the single crochet...this was so much easier and I only needed to do one row! And here's my third and final headband

 

For now atleast......I can see this being my go to girl present when I'm in the need of something cute in a hurry..
 Below you can see how I made the headband stretchy

I used a 1/4 inch elastic, tied it into a loop and then tied that loop in half again to stabilise it.....then I sewed the headband loops over the elastic ends.....attached the flower, and voila.... one cute headband!
 
So the question is who want's to join me on my quest?? 
Do you?