Wandering back again

 

It's been a hectic few years... change of career & kids growing up, crochet and craft has been happening as well though.

A lot of my crafty photos have made their way on to what is now called X... you can find that at loopyjess.

Pusheen pattern

After making up my own crochet version of the super cute cat Pusheen I thought I would share my quick pattern here for anyone who would also like a very cuddly cat to snuggle.

Materials

3.5mm hook
DK yarn in light grey and dark grey
Safety eyes
Dark grey thread
Yarn needle and thread needle
Soft toy stuffing

Terms used

This pattern uses US crochet terms

ch – chain
st – stitch
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
inc – increase (work 2 sc into st)
sctog – single crochet together:

insert hook into front loop of next two stitches, yarn over and pull through, yarn over and pull through 2 loops on hook

inv – invisible join

Main body

Work in a continuous spiral

magic circle
6 sc into circle
inc x 6 (12 sc)
*sc, inc* x 6 (18 sc)
*2 sc, inc* x 6 (24 sc)
*3 sc, inc* x 6 (30 sc)
*4 sc, inc* x 6 (36 sc)
*5 sc, inc* x 6 (42 sc)
*6 sc, inc* x 6 (48 sc)

sc around x 21 rows

Add safety eyes between row 10 & 11 and 17 & 18

Add stuffing until you get the shape you like adding extra stuffing as you work decrease rows.

*6 sc, sctog* x 6 (42 sc)
*5 sc, sctog* x 6 (36 sc)
*4 sc, sctog* x 6 (30 sc)
*3 sc, sctog* x 6 (24 sc)
*2 sc, sctog* x 6 (18 sc)
*1 sc, sctog* x 6 (12 sc)
sctog x 6 (6 sc)

finish off – thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight.

Ears x 2

magic ring
3 sc into ring
inc each st (6 sc)
*sc, inc* x 3 (9 sc)
*2 sc, inc* x 3 (12 sc)

fasten off and sew onto head above eyes.

Back stripes x 2

ch 9
skip first ch and then 7 sc across ch
3 sc in final ch
6 sc in remaining back loops of ch, 3 sc in final loop
inv join to first st worked. fasten off and sew onto back

Tail

work in the round joining each row with a sl st

- start with dark grey -
magic ring
5 sc into ring
inc x 5 (10 sc)
work 3 more rows
- change to light grey -
work 3 rows
- change to dark grey -
work 3 rows
- change to light grey -
work 3 rows
- change to dark grey -
work 3 rows

stuff tail

- change to light grey -
work 1 row
sctog x 5
5 sc around

sl st join to first sc worked then finish off.

Finishing off

Embroider details on face - head stripes, whiskers & mouth. To help get the shaping on Pusheen's mouth I couched the yarn with a single strand of grey thread. 

 

Please feel free to use items made from this pattern however you wish, if you do sell any I would appreciate being credited as the pattern designer.

Please do not reproduce this 

pattern anywhere else

Pokemon crochet - risky but worth it!

My side of the sofa has been taken over with Pokemon crochet again. After making a few more Pokeballs as a last minute present for one of Sam's friends I finally got around to making a few different balls to add to the kids pokeball collection. First I crocheted up this Ultra ball - on giving it to my children it was promptly thrown at me.
 

This didn't deter me though as I foolishly decided to try and make a repeat ball. I was very proud of it and so passed it to my husband to admire and he then threw it at me with a shout of 'I choose you!' 

Emily then requested a crochet pokemon for one of her friends and so little Lotad has just been finished up ready to join a new family. Before heading off to a new home though he went out to visit our garden pond to see if he could spot one of the frogs that have been occasionally popping by.

I'm pleased to say that Lotad has not been thrown at me, at least not yet...

Baby blue

I'm back trying to get busy crocheting and wanted to quickly share this ripple baby blanket I finished at the beginning of Spring... 

Colours from a yarn pack bought for me by my lovely sister. Ripple pattern by Lucy of Attic24. 

Should be keeping a new tiny one warm soon :-)

Easter eggs

We're off for an egg hunt tomorrow and after seeing lots of yarny eggs hanging up at Dunham Massey I was inspired to come up with my own crochet eggs to hide along side the chocolate treats.

My eggs turned out pleasingly egg shaped so I thought I would share with you my simple egg pattern.

Simple crochet eggs

Magic circle to start

Work 6 sc into circle (6sc)
Work 2 sc into each sc (12sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (18sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 2 sc* repeat 6 times (24sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 3 sc* repeat 6 times (30sc)

Work 1 sc into each sc around for next 5 rows

Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 8 sc* repeat 3 times (27sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 7 sc* repeat 3 times (24sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 6 sc* repeat 3 times (21sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 5 sc* repeat 3 times (18sc)
Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 4 sc* repeat 3 times (15sc)

Stuff egg firmly

Work *2 sc into next sc, sc in next 3 sc* repeat 3 times (12sc)
Work 2 sc into each of next 12 sc (6sc)

Finish off with long end. Use end to close top of egg.

 Now you're ready to go off for your own Easter hunt!

Hope you all have a lovely Easter :-)

Pokemon headwear

I thought it was high time for some new crochet hats for the residents of Tea Towers. After much pattern searching it seems that Pokemon are still very much in Emily and Sam's hearts so I started on a Pikachu hat for the cheeky one.

Emily kept me on target to get it finished with daily challenges that she set each night before she went to sleep - 'Mummy tonight I want you to finish ...'

She was also very clear about the level of detail she required and made sure to check in with me that I had all the materials I needed - 'Don't forget that you need red wool for the cheeks..', 'it needs to have brown stripes on the back Mummy, don't forget'.

Sam took a lot longer to decide on what he wanted. He still wears the crochet hat I made for him 5 years ago... it still fits and is super snuggly and has almost become his trademark at school, so he only wanted a hat that would continue to be as noticed.

I think he is going to be noticed in this :-)

The droid gang

I'm still loving the fantastic Star Wars crochet patterns by Lucy Collin. In the run up to Christmas they were the perfect quick gifts to make for the family.

BB-8 has come from the new Star Wars crochet book "Even more Star Wars Crochet" by Lucy Collin. I love how the clever construction worked so well to show so much detail and he ended up looking fantastic.

This kit came with so many exciting new patterns as well as the materials to make BB-8 & a Jawa.

"Utinni!"

I was much happier with the finish of my Jawa after adding an extra row of sc around the finished edge of the hood to make it slightly deeper.

Last up I made a really quick R2-D2 (and he really was very quick, only took about 3 hours from start to finish). My R2-D2 has pipe cleaners in the legs to reinforce them without any stuffing which I think worked really well.  

I just love these patterns and will be sorting through my stash to make more soon :-)