Amigurumi Gingerbread Friend

I needed a change of pace for a couple days so I’ve been working on some amigurumi-style stuffed toys.  This one is an adorable gingerbread friend.  You could easily add a yarn loop at the top and turn it into an ornament as well.

I have the finished gingerbread man in my shop on Etsy.com here.  If you would like to make one of your own, here’s the pattern below.  If you do make one of these, could you send me a picture?  I’d love to see how it turns out.

Materials:
1 ball brown yarn
1 ball cream or ecru yarn
small amount red yarn
2 plastic safety eyes or small amount black yarn
small amount pink yarn
fiberfill stuffing
Size G crochet hook
stitch markers or scraps of yarn to mark rounds

Note: Work in continuous rounds.  Do not join or turn unless specifically stated in the instructions.

Head and Body:
Begin at the top of the head, with brown ch 2.
Round 1: Work 6 sc in first ch.  Place marker or yarn scrap in first st to mark beginning of round.  Move marker up as each round is completed.
Round 2: Work 2 sc in each sc around - 12 sts.
Round 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st, repeat from * around - 18 sts.
Round 4: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 2 sts, repeat from * around - 24 sts.
Round 5: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 3 sts, repeat from * around - 30 sts.
Rounds 6-11: sc in each st around.
Round 12: *sc2tog, sc in each of next 3 sts, repeat from * around - 24 sts.
Round 13: *sc2tog, sc in each of next 2 sts, repeat from * around - 18 sts.  If using safety eyes, attach them now.  Begin stuffing head, continuing to stuff piece as work progresses.
Round 14: sc in each sc around.
Round 15: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 2 sts, repeat from * around - 24 sts.
Rounds 16-23: sc in each sc around.
Round 24: *sc2tog, sc in each of next 2 sts, repeat from * around - 18 sts.
Round 25: *sc2tog, sc in next st, repeat from * around - 12 sts.
Round 26: *sc2tog, repeat from * around - 6 sts.  Fasten off, leaving a long yarn end.  Thread yarn into a large-eye yarn needle and gather stitches tightly together, fasten off again.

Arms and Legs (Make 4 total)With brown, ch 2.
Round 1: Work 6 sc in first ch.  Place marker or yarn scrap in first st to mark beginning of round.  Move the marker up as each round is completed.
Round 2: Work 2 sc in each sc around - 12 sts.
Round 3: sc in each sc around.  Change to cream.
Round 4: sc in each sc around.  Change to brown.
Rounds 5-7: sc in each sc around, stuffing as work progresses.
Round 8: *sc2tog, sc in each of next 2 sts, sc2tog, repeat from * around - 8 sts.  Fasten off.

Buttons (Make 2) With red, ch 2.  Work 4 sc in first ch.  Fasten off, leaving a long yarn end to use to sew buttons onto body.

Finishing:
Sew arms and legs to body.  Sew buttons to chest.  With red, embroider a smile.  With pink yarn, embroider cheeks.  (I used a satin stitch for the cheeks, but you could also do a french knot.)  If not using safety eyes, embroider eyes with black yarn.  (I used a satin stitch, but you could also do a french knot.)  Weave in yarn ends.

Girl's Knit Jumper Dress

Somehow between all of the homemade Christmas gifts I made this year I managed to find time to knit my daughter a dress to wear for her Sunday School Christmas pageant.  It’s a simple jumper dress knit in stockinet stitch with a garter stitch border on the hemline and the pockets.  It was really cute on her and kept her nice and warm on such a cold day.  Many people commented how adorable the dress was on her.

If you would like to make one of these yourself you can find the pattern for this dress on the Lion Brand Yarn website here.  (Note: On the Lion Brand website they call it a sundress, but you can easily add a shirt underneath as we did to make it a jumper.)

Would you like this dress made for you?  I welcome custom orders.  Please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create something beautiful for you.

Quick V-Stitch Lap Afghan

This is the afghan I crocheted for my mother-in-law and father-in-law for Christmas.  Again, since I way overbooked myself I needed a quick pattern.  I used a size K hook, but if you wanted an even quicker project you could use a P or Q hook.  This was crocheted using three strands of yarn held together throughout, both for time and bulkiness, and for a little extra warmth.  You can never have too many warm afghans when you live in Minnesota! :)

I’ll be posting the pattern for this afghan here after I finish the last of the homemade Christmas presents.  I have a similar one in my shop on Etsy that is a light blue and is the perfect size for the special child in your life.

I also welcome custom orders.  If you would like something made for you please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create something beautiful!

Quick Granny Square Afghan

For some reason I decided to torture myself and make the majority of our Christmas presents this year.  They’ve all turned out beautifully, but I’ll have to remember to space them out a little better next year to give myself more time.  Since I didn’t have a lot of time for each gift, I opted for some quick projects.

This is the afghan I made for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  It’s basically a huge granny square, but instead of doing a bunch of smaller granny squares and taking way too much time to sew them all together, I just kept adding rounds until it was the size I wanted.  I used two strands of yarn throughout ~ both to give it a little bulk so it was a faster project and to add a little extra warmth.  If you’d like to make one like this for yourself, I used a size K crochet hook and approximately 14-16 ounces of each color.  See the Giant Granny Square Afghan post for the pattern.

I also have one similar to this finished and for sale in my shop on Etsy.  Check it out!  I also welcome custom orders.  If you would like an afghan made for you please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create something beautiful for you.

Kaitlyn's Bunny Costume

My daughter Kaitlyn decided she wanted to be a bunny for Halloween this year, so I looked through all of the pattern books and found a really cute pattern from McCall’s.  It was adorable and kept her nice and warm. 

Here’s a couple pictures of her in the bunny costume.  She’s turning around partway in the second picture so you can see the tail. 

Knit Seed Stitch Stripes Baby Blanket

While going through my stash of yarn I came across a variegated yarn that I absolutely loved with shades of blue, green, pink, and white.  Of course there wasn’t enough of it to make a whole project, but after digging a little further I discovered coordinating yarns and decided to make a baby blanket.  I’ve been doing so much quilting and crocheting lately, so I thought I’d do something different and knit this one.  It’s done in a seed stitch to add a little texture, and I crocheted a row around the edge just to give the blanket a clean finished edge.  The finished blanket is currently for sale in my shop on Etsy.

This blanket would be a great gift for any mother-to-be or any special child in your life.

Love this blanket but prefer different colors?  I welcome custom orders.  Please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create a beautiful item for you.

Giant Granny Square Afghan

This is a variation on a classic granny square afghan.  Traditionally, several granny square blocks are crocheted and then sewn together.  For this variation, you would continue adding rounds on the granny square until it’s the size you want instead of making several smaller squares.  I currently have the afghan shown here in white, light sage and medium sage green for sale in my shop on Etsy.  I’ve also made this pattern with light pink instead of white for a customer.

I welcome custom orders.  If you would like to have this item in a different color please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create a beautiful item for you.

Here’s the pattern if you’d like to make this one yourself:
Finished Size: The afghan shown here is approximately 51 inches square, but you can add or subtract rounds to make this whatever size you need.  This would be great as a baby afghan with fewer rounds.
Materials Needed:

Size J Crochet Hook
Worsted weight yarn in 3 or 4 coordinating colors - I used approx. 12 oz of each of white (A), light sage green (B), and medium sage green (C)
For a glossary of crochet terms & abbreviations used in this pattern see the Glossary of Crochet Stitches post.

Afghan:

With A, ch4.  Join with a sl st in first ch to form a ring.

Round 1: With A, ch3, 2 dc in ring, *ch 2, 3 dc in ring; repeat from * 2 more times, ch 2.  Join with sl st in top of beginning ch. Fasten off A.

Round 2: Join B in any ch 2 space, ch 3.  (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch 2 space, *ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch 2 space.  Repeat from * once more.  Ch 1, join with a sl st to top of beginning ch.  Fasten off B.

Round 3: Join C in any ch 2 space, ch 3.  (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch 2 space, *ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch 2 space.  Repeat from * twice more.  3 dc in next ch 1 space, ch 1.  Join with sl st to top of beginning ch.  Fasten off C.

Round 4: Join A in any ch 2 space, ch 3.  (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch 2 space, *ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch 2 space.  Repeat from * twice more, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space, ch 1.  Join with sl st to top of beginning ch.  Fasten off A.

Rounds 5-39: Repeat round 4, adding a ch 1 space and 3 dc in ch 1 space on each side and continuing color pattern.  Do not fasten off C at end of round 39.

Round 40: With C, ch 1, sc in each dc and each ch 1 space around, working 3 sc in each ch 2 corner.  Fasten off C.  Weave in all ends.

Tip: To help keep the afghan square, join each color in a different corner for each round. 

Zoo Animal Baby Quilt

This adorable baby quilt features a fun zoo animal print with elephants, lions, giraffes, lions, tigers and penguins.  This quilt is a great option when you need a baby shower gift in a hurry.  It is pieced using a simple one-patch design with red and white sashings and red cornerstones.  I will be posting the pattern for this quilt when I have a chance.

I recently sold this quilt in my shop on Etsy.    Would you like a quilt made for you?  I welcome custom orders.  Please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create something beautiful for you.

Blue Ripple Afghan

This gorgeous afghan is crocheted in a soft ripple pattern using cream, light blue, and a light blue/tan/cream variegated yarn.  It is currently for sale in my shop on Etsy.  This is one of those really soft blankets that you reach for on a chilly afternoon or evening when you’re cuddled up on the couch, or as a throw blanket for a little color to dress up a room.

This afghan would be a great gift for someone you love, even if that someone is yourself!

I welcome custom orders.  If you love this afghan but would like it made in a different color, please contact me.  I would be happy to work with you to create a beautiful item for you.

Pink Stripes Baby Afghan

This baby afghan is crocheted with an interesting texture that almost looks like a waffle-weave.  I sold this one in my shop on Etsy.  It would make a great gift for any mother-to-be to welcome a special little one to your life.

It’s the perfect size to use in the nursery in the crib, to take on outings, or for a floor blanket for playtime or tummy time.

I welcome custom orders.  If you'd like this afghan made in another color please contact me and I'll be happy to work with you to create something beautiful for you.

Update 4-28-12:  I just added the pattern for this afghan!  You can find it in the Pink Stripes Baby Afghan Pattern post.