Origami Booties & a Guest Blog post!

Yes, here I am! I know, it's been a while. Life has taken me down some rather interesting avenues in the past 5 months. Yes, it's been that long!

First I was asked by a friend if I would write a guest blog post for her blog. I thought about it for a while and finally decided that I should. It would explain a lot and heck, it would be fun! So head on over to Susan's blog and have a read. I hope you enjoy!

I've also taken this opportunity to introduce a brand new pattern! I've always liked the thought of baby booties but have never had the patience for the increases, decreases, twists and turns so have avoided making them. But now a young friend of mine is expecting! What to do?!? Well, of course that meant that I would have to sit down and figure out how to make super cute booties with a super simple pattern. I think I've succeeded :)

Here for your enjoyment, my Origami Booties!

I created what I feel is the easiest way of making baby booties. One strip of crochet fabric, how much simpler can it get?

The fun comes with the folding of said strip. Hence the name Origami booties. There is a photo tutorial with the pattern to show you step by step how to fold the strip that becomes the cutest pair of booties around.

The other feature that I love about these, no buttons! baubles, etc... I've been designing clothing and accessories for children since my children were very young and one of the big things I avoided was adding anything to a design that might cause a choking hazard for the child wearing it. The way these booties are made, there is no need for buttons or strings. The booties stay on those wee footsies quite nicely by themselves. And if baby decided to have a chew on them, no problem!

As a part of the pattern, I have included the formula to calculate the length and number of stitches to make in order to create booties of any size, even for adults if they would like some!

Duckie booties!

And just for the heck of it, I decided to figure out how to turn these cute booties into duckie feet booties! Now how many toddlers do you know that would just love to waddle around the house quacking while they look down at their duckie feet?!? 

 

Aren't these the absolute cutest booties??!!?? 

 

This pattern is available for purchase from my Ravelry store. Please use the button below to go directly to my store. Thank you and have a great day!

Starstruck Dish, Wash cloth incl. Hotpad, Makeup Scrubbie & Coaster options

Dishcloth with coaster and makeup scrubbie

© 2012 Lokipan Crochet Designs

Dishcloth with coaster and makeup scrubbie

© 2012 Lokipan Crochet Designs

Yes I know, that's quite a mouthful for a pattern. But I believe in giving all the options up front so you know exactly what you are getting in this pattern!

© 2012 Lokipan Crochet Designs

Who doesn't love stars! So many gorgeous stars and they whip up in a jiffy! I've made several in an evening while watching a DVD. Once you are familiar with this pattern, they just seem to fly out of your hands.

I found this pattern scribbled on a piece of scrap paper tucked between the pages of my grandmother's sewing pattern book. It was done in size 10 crochet thread for which I have very little patience. So I cleaned it up, switched it up by using worsted weight cotton yarn, a bigger hook, less rounds and Voila! A cloth for many uses.

Yes, you have read it right. These cloths depending on where you stop will make super cute coasters, makeup scrubby pads, dishcloth, washcloth and hotpads! There probably are a lot more uses for these such as turning this into a super cute baby blanket by just continuing to add rounds.

© 2012 Lokipan Crochet Designs

This is a fairly simple pattern and I would recommend it to beginner crocheters. The instructions are fully written out with abbreviations explained. The only crochet stitch you need to know is the single crochet. And by listing it for only 1$ it's affordable for everyone!

The yarn used is Bernat Handicrafter worsted weight (#4) cotton for dishcloths, scrubbies, and coasters. The Samband Lopi in worsted weight pure wool was used for the hot pads as wool is more resistant to heat than cotton and will not scorch. I used dark grey, light grey and cream.

© 2012 Lokipan Crochet Designs

As for the approximate amounts used for each type:

• coaster and makeup scrubbie 15 grams
• medium dishcloth/washcloth 35 grams
• large hot pad (2 layers) using wool 130 grams total for both
• large hot pad (2 layers) using cotton 75 grams total for both

The finished sizes are approximate, as everyone crochets tight or loose, are measured from star tip to opposite valley.

© 2012 Lokipan Crochet Designs

• Coaster & Face (makeup) Scrubbie 12cm / 5 inches
• Medium dishcloth/washcloth 19 cm / 7.5 inches
• Large washcloth/dishcloth 21.6 cm / 8.5 inches
• Hot pad (2 layers) 23 cm / 9 inches 

A starry teaser!

Starstruck teaser

I've been working on these little lovelies all week. I had a fellow crocheter ask me for the pattern and then someone else messaged me asking if I was going to publish the pattern.

Well, I've been working on writing out the pattern diligently. I have taken photos, checked and double checked my figures and all that's left is testing the final piece.

Everyone who's received these this Christmas have fallen in love with them. I hope you will like them too. So bear with me one more day so I can finish testing the final piece and a brand new pattern will be available!

You will need worsted weight cotton yarn, crochet hook, wool yarn in as many colours as you want. So get ready because once you see these, you will want to make some right away!

Life

Life is full of blessings, sometimes you have to look a little harder to find them.

Such has been the case for this year's Christmas for us.

Being on assistance meant not having anything for Christmas since we had no money to spend. But circumstances, friends, family brought home to us that the true Christmas is having friends and family and appreciating them. We already knew that, but we needed a good solid nudge to be reminded.

My darling sister soul gave us some very thoughtful gifts, of which my favorites are the book Crochet Master Class edited by Jean Leinhauser whom we lost this year. A great loss to her family, friends and the crochet indie design industry.

I first came across this book at our local library. Fell in love with it and it was moved to the top of my crochet wish list!  And now, lucky me, I have it thanks to my darling sister! She also gave me a second book, Bring Colour to crochet. A beautiful collection of stitch patterns done in colours that make each pop off the page!

After those, a new windup toy! Yes, silly things please me such as small wind up toys. This latest addition to my growing collection is a Santa Claus riding an old fashioned train. Love it! :)

My husbands favorite was the Belgian chocolate letter of course! quickly followed by new socks and warm mittens.

Then from a sweet friend we received some much needed supplies (paper towels, tp & tissues)... the super soft expensive ones! Two of her gifts also pleased my husband to no ends, Belgian chocolate truffles and cookies!

I also received windups from her! One is of a cute penguin and the other is a Santa and both were lovingly put to bed in a super cute Winnie the Pooh gift box. Love love love them!

And a surprise came to our door earlier this week. Someone I got to know in the class I was taking this past fall received a turkey as a gift from her job, but she already had more turkeys than she knew what to do with. She offered it to us! So sitting in my freezer waiting for New Years` is a lovely 15 lbs turkey! A most pleasant surprise since our hamper from the Salvation Army held potatoes, cabbage, squash, peas/carrots, but no meat. So there is our meat! :)

So for all those who despair and feel that this season has let them down, consider that there are people out there a lot worse off than you are. This season has certainly reminded us to be thankful for small blessings and wonderful friends.

So to all my friends, family, crocheters and knitters around the world; I wish you all a Merry Christmas (or a Merry Celebration of your choice) and keep the faith in your heart. When things look at their bleakest, open your eyes, look around and reach out, ask for help, you matter and that is the most important thing to remind yourself of.

MarieAnge

Star Shine Bangles (Crochet Pattern)

The bangle tree!

 This instalment is continuing on the theme of bangles as jewelry and wristwarmers for all seasons. And now that Christmas is staring at us, and we know we haven't got all the stocking stuffers! Here's a quick project for you to make.

I'm not big on lots of jewelry, but I also like to keep my wrists warm. This pattern is one of those flashes of genius that hits when needed the most. Make a fashion statement and keeping your wrists warm; these double as actual wearable jewelry!

Perfect fit for all wrists

Add beads or just make them plain. The star stitch makes a very pretty bangle on it's on. Also a fantastic way to use those super special mini skeins we all keep in our stash. I hope you enjoy making this bangle as much as I have.

As requested by a friend

And it's so quick! You can dash off several in an evening!

Please follow this link or go to the one in my sidebar to purchase this pattern for only 1$!!

When a husband requests....

Stop the presses!!!

A husband has made a request for a pair of arm warmers, customized to fit his arms, that run from the wrists all the way up to just about the shoulder. They have to fit snuggly but not tightly, they must be made with a dark colored yarn, preferably black, must not sag or bag and heaven forbids that they might not stay up! OH, and they must be soft on his tender skin!!

Now there's a challenge! But is it one that most fiber users dread to receive from the last person they expect to get a request from? This dear friends is exactly the case. My husband recognises the hard work that goes into designing a pattern, add to that the custom fitting of said pattern; custom fitting that requires many try-ons for fitting purposes. Noting comments such as it's a bit tight or it's a bit loose at *insert arm part*. These will be worn for the most part when he's sleeping. He cannot stand to have his arms under the blankets and since the bedroom gets a tad on the cold side in winter, he could not leave his arms above the blankets, at least not without a good pair of arm warmers. But I also have to keep in mind that he will wear them while at the computer on those particularly cold days.

In the past, I knit more than a couple of pairs of arm warmers for him. They were ok, but not exactly what he wanted. The one pair was too short, but works great when he's at the computer and his hands are freezing. The next pair went up to the elbow, included a thumb gusset, stayed up fairly well but weren't quite long enough. Those have now been repurposed for keeping my extremities warm (more on that pair later). The next set went up past the elbow, but were too wide for the upper arm section and sagged when worn.

So I went the crochet way since I feel more comfortable doing crochet designs over knitted ones. Don't take me wrong, I have designed knit patterns in the past, and have found that for me,,crochet is better. It translates much better from my sewing patterns (which I used extensively when designing clothing for my son who is disabled) to crochet patterns. After much measuring, I remembered that I had not asked the hubster what kind of yarn he wanted. The answer came back quick, acrylic please. So acrylic it is in black please.

I went through my stash and discovered that black yarn is a rare bird in my collection. I found a ball of camo with black, dark green and beige and hoping against hope presented it to the hubster for approval. He frowned at it until I told him that was the total sum of the black yarn I own. And he finally agreed, that ok, he would try the camo but if he didn't like it, I'd have to make a 2nd pair after I'd found black yarn.

The first arm warmer is completed, and I'm 1/3 of the way into the next one. So far the hubster is satisfied. I will have photos and the pattern available over the next few days! 

PS. I haven't forgotten about the new hat design I'm working on! Should be finished testing mid week!

October, pumpkins, birthdays and skulls, oh my!

Already past the halfway mark in October and already so many things have come to pass with more on it's way. 

My darling daughter and her husband celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary medieval style. Don't they look absolutely darling? They also went to dinner and a show at Medieval Times over the weekend and had a ball.

Over the next weeks, both of them will be celebrating their birthdays, my daughter's the 26th and her husband the 29th. I'm sure they will have a great birthday together :)

After that it's Hallowe'en. Trick or Treaters, dressing up, handing out candy, all the fun stuff. Unfortunately, living in a secure building, no kids come here. But it's still fun to go for a walk and see them all over the neighborhood, especially the wee ones. I hope the weather is warm on that night.

I remember when my daughter was 3, we were living in Cornwall and we decided that it would be ok for her to go trick or treating in the neighborhood. So wearing a homemade costume by yours truly, we set off down the street where all the neighbors knew who she was. She was so cute, wearing a red coat, red pants, black boots, and a black furry hat with red devil horns sticking out of it. Her face painted red. She was the cutest wee devil on the block! Unfortunately over the years, the photos were lost during various moves, otherwise I'd have one posted for everyone to see just how cute she was ;)

And what have I been doing during these past few weeks since I published my bangles pattern you ask?

Well, I've actually had the opportunity to follow a university level course in Humanities offered free by McMaster University as part of their pilot program to provide advanced education for those less fortunate who will never be able to afford a university education. And yes, I fall in that category sadly enough. So I've been busy with homework and research which I'm enjoying tremendously.

But that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything else! I've been working on and testing a new pattern, one I will be publishing soon and will come in time for Hallowe'en. Since it will be a fast crochet, it can even be made in time for Hallowe'en costuming! So keep in touch, and you'll get to see the cool new hat I've designed!