a couple days late....

Sorry for the delay. Between dealing with work and snow, things have been a little weird around here. (Okay, a little weirder than usual). My rosebushes as well as my bulbs have about 28 inches of snow on them. And we're expecting more tonight. I'm beginning to wonder if my daffodils will make it.

Hopefully, my daffodils will make it. But this is the only way I'm going to see any daffodils any time soon
http://www.favecrafts.com/Kitchen-Crochet/Daffodils-Bouquet-Crochet-Pattern

Here's another cat for you
http://tinyurl.com/yle74vr

I just bought some Bernat in the soft yellow and I think it would perfect to this
baby duck crochet pattern. I could add some yellow fun fur to it, but I'm not so sure that would be good for a baby. The fun fur seems to shed.
http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-for-Baby/Baby-Duck-Crochet-Pattern

I seem to have toys on the brain - luckily here's a few more free patterns - a turtle
http://www.naturallycaron.com/projects/turtle_toy/turtle_toy_1.html

And a frog toy
http://www.caron.com/projects/w/frog.html

and a snake
http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/ss_coral_snake.html


And something cute but a little different, a stuffed star
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=329561.0


If you're on the east coast, you probably have need of a few more hats to keep yourself (or your loved ones) warm during this bout of "February Fury" as the Weather Channel is calling it so here's http://www.crochetme.com/Crochet-Hat-Patterns/ from CrochetMe

And you might need some mittens to go along with that hat. Bev's Country Cottage always has wonderful patterns- here's one for baby mittens
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/tod-mitts.html
and a pattern for a larger size
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/bevs-marvelous-mitts.html


Here's a peaked hat with ear flaps
http://www.naturallycaron.com/projects/glenmore/glenmore_1.html


I found this pattern absolutely fascinating and want to try it out...
a chain maile scarf
http://knitcidents.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/chain-maille-scarf-free-crocheting-pattern/

Here's an "autumn tunic" but there's no reason why you couldn't change the colors for a "winter tunic" or a "spring tunic"
http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/ss_autumn_tunic.html

Dogs have to be walked - even in the winter and the snow - and they can get cold. So here's a dog sweater pattern for you.
http://www.canine-kids.com/crochet-dog-sweater.html


This is an amazing looking scarf/belt
http://www.naturallycaron.com/projects/gallup/gallup_1.html

Or how about this pattern for crochet mittens and a hat from Bernat?
http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-Hats-Scarves-Gloves/Chunky-Crochet-Mittens-and-Scarf-from-Bernat#

If you missed the "Blessed Mother Prayer Shawl" from "Annie's Favorite Crochet" (December 2006), here's a chance for you to get the pattern. It is a wonderful work of art.
http://www.crochetmagazine.com/newsletters.php?mode=article&article_id=639&key=NL00


And how about a cute rainbow applique?
http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-rainbow-applique/


If you need a cute decoration for a baby shower gift, here's a quick crochet mittens gift topper
http://www.bhg.com/holidays/christmas/crafts/crochet-mitten-gift-topper/


Here's a few quick ideas for Valentine's Day

Jewelry bag number 1
http://craftyarncouncil.com/sept98_crochproject.html

Jewelry bag number 2
http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-Bags/Pompon-Purselet-Crochet-Pattern-from-Caron-Yarn

and of course, some hearts.....

Here's crochet hearts ornaments
http://simplebeans.blogspot.com/2009/01/crochet-heart-ornament-pattern.html

This pattern says "Christmas" but you could do it for Valentine's Day
http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=0&d_id=527&lang=us

Again, this says "Christmas" but it could be done for Valentine's day
http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=104&d_id=46&lang=en

A treat from The Royal Sisters, Grandma's hearts
http://theroyalsisters.blogspot.com/2009/12/grandma-hearts-tutorial.html


Here's a quick one - a crochet heart bookmark
http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-heart-bookmark/


And that's all I have for today. I'm still working on my groundhog, I'm still working on the body part, about half finished. As usual, I get no gratuities from mentioning these sites. I'd accept them, but nobody's offering;)
Enjoy and I hope you keep warm

FM 3/10/08

It's a short one today. My grandmother died today & I'm just not entirely with it....

When I was a little girl, we had old Easter baskets. The okdest had the largest and so on down the line. They did not look anything like the current (cheesy looking - at least to me) baskets.
If you want to make a memorable Easter basket, start with this pattern.
http://crochetroo.blogspot.com/2007/03/rustic-easter-basket.html

Need a quick flower for your Easter bonnet or to use as a boutieniere - here's a cool pattern:
http://www.moonarts.com/blog/free_patterns/pages/crochet-flower-print.htm

I love the way pansies look. This is a pattern for a crochet pansy. (it looks like a pansy to me)
http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/carley%20flowers.html

Ready for a new contest? Check this one out for creating a flower:
http://crochet.craftgossip.com/time-for-a-spring-fling-a-new-contest/2008/02/28/

I'm not really a "tunic" kind of person - most look uncomfortable. However, this one is gorgeous. Created by Vashi Braha for Caron, it uses the Shadow yarn to great effect:
http://www.caron.com/projects/shadows/sss2_baroque_tunic.html

Until next week (I might be here, don't know how I'll be doing since she gets buried on Saint Patrick"s Day) _enjoy_

60 scarves in 60 days

I'm sure most, if not all of you, are familiar with the "Crocheting With Dee" blog. In it, Dee descibes the various items she has been crocheting, her attempts at gaining knitting proficiency, the classes she teaches and projects she supports. One project she supports (and I got involved in) in her "60 scarves in 60 days". You don't have to follow a particular pattern or use a particular yarn. You don't have to give it to a particular charity - you can choose a local charity if you want. That's what makes it so cool.
This year, I made 8 scarves. I particularly enjoyed working with all the different yarn. I made a lovely one (if I do say so myself) out of Plymouth Encore "Colorspun", an oatmeal color with other colors in it.l color. I also used Caron's "Simply Soft Shadows" for 2 of the scarves. I love the way they feel and the way the yarn works up. I also used an old favorite, Red Heart. Say what you want, but I _know_ Red Heart is durable. It will be softer once it gets washed.
I didn't really use any special techniques to crochet the scarves. On the red scarf, I made a graduated fringe, which I have never done before, so that was neat. But I used the basic double crochet or half double crochet because it could be used for male or female. I didn't use any fur yarns just because (to me) they seem feminine.
The church I go to has a homeless shelter for women and children. I will donate the scarves there. Even if it's a relatively warm winter (according to the "Old Farmer's Alamanc", it's supposed to be for this area), it still gets windy and cold and a soft scarf is a great companion.
If you want to check out Dee's blog, you can use the "Crocheting With Dee" button I have on my page.