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!

Stacks Baby Hat (crochet pattern)

Click here to go to my Ravelry Store

Finally! After clearing the snafus and sorting out the yarn and the pattern, I have a new baby hat that I think will make any baby or toddler feel special. It works for both boys and girls, it can be finished with a crab stitch hem or just left as is or with a simple rolled hem.

This hat was inspired by both Lego/Duplo building bricks and the yarn itself.

I love color, especially vibrant colors for baby clothing. When my daughter was just born, the bright vibrant colors would catch her interest immediately over the pastel shades. Her favorites were red, purple, green and yellow.


So, without further ado, here is my all new Stacks Baby Hat crochet pattern.


It covers a range of sizes from Preemie to toddler.

SIZES
Preemie / Newborn to 3 months – 33 cm circumference by 13 cm high (13” by 5”) stretches to 41 cm (13”)

3 to 12 months – 37 cm circumference by 15 cm high (14” by 6”) stretches to 43 cm (17”)

12 to 24 months (toddler) – 46 cm by 18 cm circumference (18” by 7”) stretches to 56 cm (22”)

HOOK 4 mm (US G)

YARN Patons Look at Me baby sport, 50 gr (1.75 ozs) 139 meters (152 yards)
Used approximately half of a ball.
Any comparable sport or dk yarns that achieves the same gauge can be used.
Darning needle

DIFFICULTY Advanced beginner

This is also a fantastic pattern for using up partial balls of yarn we all have in our stash.

Detailed instruction for 3 sizes. Click here for my Ravelry pattern store.

This pattern is available for purchase at My Ravelry Store. Simply click the image of the hat in the sidebar and it will direct you to my store.

Have you ever had...

Have you ever had days where it doesn't matter what you do, it's going to go down the proverbial crapper? That's the kind of day I've had so far and I'm looking forward to it being over.

But then again...

I am diligently working on getting my latest pattern for a super cute baby hat published. Due to some technical difficulties (read this as designer, moi, looked at the wrong pattern during the final test crochet) causing a delay in the publishing schedule.

I should have it published by tomorrow night.. if I can thaw my hands out enough to do the crochet testing! It's turned seriously frigid here in southern Ontario. Usually I never feel the cold, but today, wowzers, do I ever feel it! Multiple layers of clothing, wool socks and still not feeling warm. Oh well, time to go back to keeping those fingers moving and finish up the test crochets!

And I may end up designing arm warmers so I can return the ones I borrowed from hubby. On a side note; my neck warmer (see previous post) is working very well mind you :) something for which I am thankful.

Strawberry Fields Forever (new crochet pattern)

As promised, I introduce you to my newest pattern!

I love strawberries, with milk, on their own, as jams and jellies, in pies, in shortcakes. Each of those reminds me of warm breezy summer days crouched over strawberry patches alongside my grandmother helping her to pick the wee wild strawberries for homemade goodness. I remember having a small tin pail, I think in it's former life it was a candy tin, with a piece of wire twisted at each end into holes that had been gently tapped in with a hammer and nail. My bucket was red and white, I can still see it in my mind. My grandmother would coach me on how to pick them without crushing the tiny berries and any that were crushed I was allowed to eat. So you can guess in those first years, more berries went into my tummy than in my tin pail. But the years went by and each summer I picked more and more berries to contribute to the breakfast jams and the holiday pies. Fast forward to 1985, finally my own daughter is old enough to come with her Mom to pick strawberries. I could replay that reel in my mind, mimicking my grandmother's way of teaching, watching my 4 year old daughter smeared with strawberry juice trying to pick one without crushing it and silently thanking my grandmother for her patient teaching of an art that is quickly disappearing.

I present you this, my Strawberry Fields Forever Hat in remembrance of my grandmother's patient teachings. The hat comes in 3 sizes, from preemie/newborn to toddler/child. You may add the stem and curlicues or just leave it plain with the plump strawberry hem. Either way, the hat makes a lovely sun protector and worn while strawberry picking, would be the beginning of a collection of precious memories for a child and parent to share.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER HAT

SIZES

The best way to judge if a hat will fit is to measure the intended child's head just above the ears for the circumference and from the crown of the head to the base of the ear lobe for the height which will give the best fit. Otherwise, follow the guidelines below for an approximate fit if the child cannot be measured. 

P/N (Preemie/Newborn /3 mth) - 11.4 cm (4.5")high by 35.3 cm (13.5") circumference

B (Baby) - 15.2 cm (6"0 high by 40.6 cm (16") circumference

T/C (Toddler/Child) - 17.8 cm (7") high by 50.8 cm (20") circumference 

YARN USED

Red Heart Super Saver 4-ply for main color (MC) Hot Red (P?N, B 1 ball, T/C 1.5 balls

Bernat Super Value 4-ply for contrast color (CC) Kelly (*(P/N, B 0.5 ball, T/C 9.75 ball)

Amounts of yarn are approximate as any brand of 4-ply yarn can be substituted.

A great project for using up small amounts of stashed yarn. 

SUPPLIES

Hook: 5 mm (H)

Darning needle 

DIFFICULTY LEVEL Advanced beginner to Intermediate