Variegated Slanted Shell Cap

I’m really pleased how this cap turned out, I hope it fits the intended recipient and that she likes it enough to wear it!

For this cap, I used a beautiful variegated yarn from the Wangaratta Mill, which is in Australia. If I had a choice, I would only use locally produced yarn, but of course its amongst the most expensive. Luckily I found this yarn on special! It has flecks of green, purple, pink and blue in it, which is very nice! My guess is this is acrylic, not wool due to the price I got it at, but I might be mistaken as the label did not say.

For this cap I used the 4mm hook and started with 7 rounds of increasing dc. I then tried a new stitch I saw for the first time the other day on youtube called a slanted shell stitch. I had to have a think about how I would do it in a round though. I turned the cap around and went back the other way, starting with 3 sl st before starting the slanted shell pattern. There are 10 rounds of slanted shell in this cap. Finally, I edged it with 5 dc scallops, with a sc in the 3rd dc. This is 24cm along the rim (so 48cm circumference), and its 19cm high.

This cap might be too warm to wear on a hot summer’s day, but hopefully it will make a very pretty autumn cap.

Reversible Blue Cotton Cap with Ridges

I used some very nice 100% blue cotton for this cap, intended for a 9 year old girl. I hope she likes it!

Because the cotton has a bubble texture, I decided I needed a simple design for this cap. I chose to do ridges which you can see through the thick yarn, anything more delicate and you would have missed it.

I started with a 3.5mm hook, because with thicker yarn than I used for the other caps I made for this recipient, the hat would not be the same size in the end. This one has 6 increasing rows, and one side of that section has horizontal ridges. These ridges are formed by only going through one part of the loop when you normally go through two.

When the rounds stop increasing, I turned the cap over so the back became the front and the ridges on the underside were showing. Then I started making vertical ridges by going under the post. There are 8 rounds like that.

Finally I made all the stitches in the next 2 rounds go behind the posts, making them all sit forward, and the reverse side had ridges. The very last round is a row of sc through one loop only to again create a ridge.

Its a very ‘ridgy’ kind of cap! Hopefully the cotton will mean it ends up being a nice, cool one too!

Three chemo caps, medium size

I finished the medium size pink cap on Thursday, after finally working out a size that might fit a 9 year old. I made a small size, and then an adult size, before doing that though!

These caps are intended for a 9 year old girl who has started chemotherapy. How awful for her, I hope she likes at least one of my caps enough to wear and help her through this time (as little comfort as that may well be).

The light and airy, pretty pink cap has 7 increasing rows. Then there is the shell pattern to the end, finished off with a scallop edge. The pattern is 2 ch sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1 (1 dc, sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1) repeated to end, sl st. The scallop edge is 5 dc into every middle of 3 dc, with a sl st into the single dc.

I used a 4mm hook for this one, just like the other two pink caps I made. Without stretching it, the cap measures 23.5cm across the base (so 47cm circumference), the height is 19cm. There are 7 increasing rows, then 11 rows of shell pattern, then one round of scallops.

I hope I get to find out if any of these fit!

Matching Pair of Pink Mother Daughter Caps

So after I made the  light and airy pretty pink cap for a small child, I had a go at making another one except larger. But I ended up making it too large, so now I have a matching pair of pretty pink mother daughter caps.

This large cap has 9 increasing rows, 11 rows of shell pattern and one round of scallops at the edge. It’s a bit on the large side, it probably should have 8 increasing rows, not 9. I used the same silky soft pink yarn for both caps, and the 4mm hook, and the same pretty shell pattern I like, inspired by the doll’s dress my grandmother made. The shell pattern is 2 ch sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1 (1 dc, sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1) repeated to end, sl st. I finished the adult size pink cap on Thursday.

I’m not sure who might like this mother daughter pair, but I have some ideas!

Light and Airy Pretty Pink Cap for a small child

This cap was originally intended for a 9 year old, but its turned out too small for her. This one will fit a 1 to 3 year old, so I will make another one that is larger.

My friend knows a 9 year old girl who is loosing her hair due to chemotherapy. Just imagine being 9 and having to go through that. I’m hoping to make her a nice cap, I chose this yarn because it’s nice and soft with a silky feel. She would need an especially soft yarn, and because its still summer and quite hot, I don’t want to make anything too warm. I’m not sure what the blend is but my guess is that it’s acrylic. I started this on Thursday afternoon and finished it on Friday, using a 4mm hook.

There are 6 increasing rows, then the non-increasing rounds have a pretty lacey pattern. The pattern is 2 ch sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1 (1 dc, sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1) repeated to end, sl st. I thought it would be big enough but I had nearly finished when I realised it would only fit a small child, not a 9 year old, after checking a site that lists head sizes for crochet hats.

But I finished the hat anyway, because I know some 1 year old girls. Maybe one of them would like it?

Monster Beanie for a Small Child

I made this monster beanie yesterday, thinking it was going to be a gift for a 1 year old boy next weekend, but it is sooo hot right now, I really think my beanie will be an inappropriate gift! I will just have to make something else that is more summerish! Inspiration for this beanie came from googling images of ‘crochet gift for one year old boy’ then ‘crochet monster hat’, none were quite like mine.

Using some more of the sea green I have left from the Wangaratte Mill, I started by making a beanie. I fitted it to my 1 year old son’s head, to make sure it would fit, using a 4mm hook. The first 6 rows are increasing, the very first round had 16 dc. The 2nd round increasing every 2nd stitch, so it’s 2 dc 1 dc repeated *, which makes 24 stitches in the round. The 3rd round increases 2 dc 1  dc 1 dc, repeated, the 4th round increases 2 dc 1 dc 1 dc 1 dc, repeated, the 5th round increases 2 dc 1 dc 1 dc 1 dc 1 dc. After that, each row just has the same dc as the previous row. To make a beanie for a larger head, you increase the number of increasing rows, to make a smaller beanie you decrease the number of increasing rows. I make rows until the beanie covered my son’s ears. You can make it slightly shorter, or longer if you want a turned up edge. I hope that makes sense to you, because it makes sense to me!

To make the beanie look like a monster I decorated it with two eyes and 4 sharp white teeth! The pattern for the teeth is 1 ch, 2 dc 1 ch 2 dc, 1 sc, 1 sl st, (1 sc, 2 dc 1 ch 2 dc, 1 sc, 1 sl st) x 3, for 4 teeth. Pull and pinch the ch at the tips slightly to make the teeth appear pointed.  For the eyes, I made 2 flat circles in white. 1st round has 12 dc, the 2nd round has 24 as it increases 2 in every st. Then I made 2 smaller black circles, using finer black wool, I threaded the ends onto a needle to sew the eyes together and onto the beanie at the same time. To finish, I edged the eyes with varigated yarn, also from the Wangaratta Mill, to attach the eyes more securely. I think the multi-coloured edge to the eyes makes the monster more friendly looking, as does the wonky tilt to his eyes!

I’m not sure what will happen to this beanie, I might give it away, or use it as a beanie for my son this coming winter. This was so easy to make, if my friends wanted some I’m sure I could whip up some more. I like making these as the colour choice is pretty open ended, which means I can use up some of this yarn that is piling up here!

* my apologies to my fellow Australians who read UK crochet, as this is in US crochet. To convert into UK crochet sc = dc, dc = tr crochet

A Christmas Eve Tea Cosy

This is my first attempt at a tea cosy, and considering I didn’t have the tea pot with me at the time to fit to measure as I went,  it turned out damned well!

It was pretty damn lucky this thing fit, but I did use a stitch that has a lot of stretch in it so it had a chance. I chose some nice soft acrylic my mum had spare and started with two rectangles of alternating rows of ridges. In hind sight, the ridges should have gone vertically instead of horizontally for even more stretch. This would increase the chance of the cosy being used for different tea pots. I chose the cheery and bright yellow colour, not only because it felt soft and would be nice to work with, but because it is a sunshiney happy colour for good luck, perfect for a family kitchen.

I was staring at the two rectangles wondering how to fix it all up as there were several options. In the end I opted to do a quick job with minimal fuss, with 1 dc 1 ch along the top for the ch pull handle. Next time this should only be 1 sc 1 ch to reduce heat loss. If I wanted to do a really good job, I could do two layers and sew them together with a 1 sc 1 dc lip, or maybe that would need the 1 dc 1ch lip, because it will be that much thicker. Also, there should be another row of dc above the lip, to further reduce heat loss. All good to note for the future, in case any one else wants me to make them a tea cosy.

I whipped up this tea cosy on Christmas Eve while everyone else slept and I couldn’t. It took me just under two hours, and I used either my 3.5mm or 4mm hook. On Christmas day I did a free form patch on my brother’s damaged beanie, I just used some blue that was on hand, it doesn’t match very well but I’m sure it doesn’t matter as this beanie is bound to end up in the bin. It was very tricky, especially as I’ve never done it before, but because I am so clever I did an absolutely awesome job!! I can not for the life of me imagine why anyone would think it was ok to take to an especially made custom crochet beanie with a pair of scissors to rig up a tea cosy, but truth is stranger than fiction it seems. Thanks for taking some time to read my blog.

Sea Green Beanie

The beanie I made on Mother’s Day is too big for Thomas, so I made this one to fit him now. I made it the same as the Mother’s Day one, but used a 4mm hook  instead of the 4.5mm, so it’s slightly smaller. I used Wangaratta Mill yarn that I got from Lincraft on special. There was nothing on the label to say it was a natural fibre so I guess I’ll have to assume it’s acrylic.

I’ve made a bunch of beanies already, but they are all too small by now, because he is growing so fast! Thomas is now 5 months old! I can’t wait until he is 6 months old, or sitting up on his own. Because he is 2 months premature, he is at the developmental stage of a 3 month old. I hope he is sitting up for my 40th birthday in July when he’ll be 7 months old – we’re hoping to go to Yum Cha and have him sitting in a high chair. People say babies grow up so fast, that we shouldn’t wish the time away, but these last few months have been going so very slowly for me and I can’t wait for him to be just a little bigger …

My First Mother's Day 2011

Happy Mother’s Day to all mums, now including me! David made me pancakes for breakfast with a scrummy berry sauce, and Thomas did his bit by being very cute!

All the beanies I’ve made so far are too small for Tom, yet it’s starting to get cold and I think he needs to wear one. So I made this one this morning, using 100% Australian merino wool and a 4.5mm hook. I usually use the 4mm hook but the bigger hook made it slightly bigger, I also added an extra increasing round. So this hat is a bit on the big side, but he’ll grow into it! Now he can keep warm in this cold weather, and I’m feeling like making him some more beanies now I know his size!

February 2011

It’s hard to believe I haven’t posted anything for the whole month of February yet, so I better do it now while I have the chance!

It’s been wonderful finally having Thomas at home, and David home from work too, so we can play happy families. Thomas has been doing very well, drinking his milk and putting on weight, what a good baby! But David had to go to work today, and I’m now on my own with the baby. He’s still sleeping so I’ve got a chance to post up a couple of photos of things I made that I haven’t posted yet.

We bought the bassinet when Tom was in hospital, it was lucky we had a chance to get some things, we also got his cot for when he grows. But the bassinet only came with a frilly quilt not a sheet, and the SIDS guidelines say to remove all the frilly unnecessary stuff. So I made a fitted sheet of my own. I did it very roughly, just hacked at a piece of printed cotton and sewed up the corners. Then I made a pocket around the inside edge, it was very rough with all 4 corners left open. Then I thread some elastic through the pocket with a safety pin. I even forgot I left the safety pin in the pocket and only took it out last night, sewing the two ends of elastic by hand. I was reluctant to use up any more material to make another sheet because Thomas won’t be using the bassinet for long. Luckily my mum bought us a couple more.

I made this little white baby beanie when we were ‘rooming in’ with Thomas in the hospital. I must say the whole experience was very strange. They had us on an overflow ward, and there weren’t many people there so they didn’t pop in very much. They must have thought we were doing so well they just sent us home early. We were supposed to stay for two nights but only stayed for one. They couldn’t find us a single room on the other floor where all the nurses were, and I think they realised it was useless to have me there without David. So far he has been doing all the midnight feeds, and we’re not sure how that will work when he is back at work. We were very lucky last night, baby Tom went 7 hours between feeds, so we were able to get some sleep. I think that’s pretty good for an 11 week old baby!

Well, thanks for the chat! It’s been nice to pop in for a while to make a post. Baby Tom is stirring now and it’s time for a feed, so I must go!

EDIT: I just have to add that about an hour after posting this, Thomas had been fed and was happily having some tummy time on a bunny rug on the lounge room floor. For the first time, he rolled over! He gave himself a real fright, bursting out crying. How cute and sweet that he should have a milestone today. I had to ring daddy straight away to tell him the good news so he doesn’t miss out on too much.