I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas🎵🎶

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas…🎶🎵🎶🎵

Recent Makes- July 29, 2019

Happy Monday Everyone!

I originally wanted to make this post two weeks ago. I had started to type it out, but it fell to the wayside, like alot of other things. I ended up taking a little bit of time off, here and there; I guess you could call it a series of mental health breaks, lol.

I’ve been wondering if I should just write about each finished project individually, in separate posts as I complete each project. It might be easier to write about just one thing at a time, not having to track down my notes and photos for each project. But then I think about the newsletter subscribers…is it a good idea to send out so many newsletters? Or maybe I should try to schedule a weekly or monthly newsletter where I can include the links to all of my recent posts?

And then there are all of my WIP’s. I’d like to start (or re-start) writing about all of them too (there are a lot of them! Lol). While I don’t always like to post about a WIP in case I don’t finish it, or if I don’t finish it for a long time, I do like to have some sort of documented history on what I’ve been working on. And then of course there’s the newsletter people again…I’m not so sure they’d like to receive updates on unfinished projects. Hmmmm, lol. I guess that in the end it’s my blog and ultimately I can write about whatever I want to! 😁 Having said that, I’m afraid of losing subscribers because my blog is so boring! I’m obviously not one of those professional bloggers with thousands of followers. This is just a hobby and I don’t get paid a cent to do any of it!

Having gotten those thoughts out of the way, let’s move on to what this post is suppose to be about…

The first completed project that I’d like to share with you in this edition of “Recent Makes” is actually not crocheted, but rather knitted. After I finished this one I did blog about it, but not here. If you’re not familiar with my adventures in knitting it might interest you to know that I have a separate blog for my knitted works. I have a handful of original knit patterns shared there, but also I write about my WIP’s and other finished projects. It is not a very active blog, as I spend most of my time hooking 😊. If you’re a knitter too, you can check out my blog Sometimes, She Knits.

Anyhow, back to this first project, which is a knit Slouchy Hat. I created this pattern this past fall, November 2018. It was originally made in blue, and I often thought that I might make it again, for myself, in the color purple (my favorite color!). However, that didn’t happen, because I’ve always got other projects on the go. Well, to my delight, a friend asked me to make it for her in purple, and to add a black flower to it as well.

Here are a few photos of my little Olivia hamming it up while modeling the hat 😂 (which by the way was completed at the beginning of July):

If you would like to read my post about this hat, which includes a link to the crocheted flower that is on it, click HERE.

Next up is a little pink and white crossbody bag for my friend’s two year old daughter, so that she can tote a couple of toys around with her. (Or rather, so that Mom doesn’t have to carry them around 😄). I found a small bundle of adorable Paw Patrol themed fat quarters at Walmart, to line the bag with (I used less than one of the quarters, so plenty left for other projects!). The pattern used for the bag is the kid sized version of my Mom’n’ Me Crossbody Bag. This project was also completed at the beginning of July.

Closing in on the middle of July, I finished making an adorable little black unicorn. It sits about 7″ tall, which is just right for the dashboard that it’s going to live on! I followed a pattern called Lil’ Baby Unicorn by Rachel Hoe of Little Yarn Friends. Since there are a lot more photos on the Ravelry listing than on the blog where the pattern is published, I will first share the link to Ravelry with you. I found that I needed to refer to more photos than what the blog shows (mainly for the mane and tail, which I ended up changing at the request of the person this unicorn was made for anyway). So, if you want to see photos click HERE to be taken to Ravelry. If you want to go straight to the pattern, click HERE.

And guess what’s next?!? Another Tame Triceratops of course! 😄 This one was made for an adorable, sweet little boy for his first birthday ❤️. I found a new yarn available at Walmart, by Red Heart called “Hello Gorgeous”. It is so soft and the color (Sedona) is exactly what I’ve been looking for for this project (I might’ve bought an extra skein and it might just turn into a winter hat for myself 😁).

In my previous posts about this pattern, the only link I had was to a direct download of the PDF. I’ve since discovered that this ebook (which is also available in hard copy, by the way) is listed on Ravelry. The link to the PDF is included on the page, so if you want to check out the book without downloading it right away, just click HERE. I completed this Triceratops on July 18th.

And this last project, an easy and quick baby blanket from The Spruce Crafts website, was a nice change of pace. It is a beginner level pattern, using the Moss Stitch. I found the pattern while scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed. I had some left over Bernat Baby Sport yarn that I wanted to use up. I wasn’t sure if I had enough to make a large blanket, so I just followed the directions for the premie sized blanket. Which I am glad that I did, because I only had enough yarn to make a 24″ square. If I had’ve used both the pink AND the white yarn in the body of the blankie, I could’ve made a larger blanket, perhaps even a toddler sized blanket. But in the end, I only used the white along the edge for a simple sc border. I finished this project on July 23. You can get the free pattern, which includes sizing for premie, newborn and toddler, at this link: Easy Crochet Baby Blanket.

And that’s all of my recent makes this time around. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post I might start sharing my projects as I complete them, and I might also start writing about my WIP’s again too.

Also, I do post about my work regularly on the COTB Facebook fan page if you’re interested in checking that out instead of waiting for me to get my butt in gear about posting here!

Until next time,

Happy Hookin’!

~Amanda~

Recent Makes- July 2, 2019

This week I have a few more completed projects to share with you. I’m hoping to keep up with making a “Recent Makes” post regularly so I don’t ignore my blog and I can document, outside of Facebook, what I’ve been doing. And hopefully, I can give others some inspiration and ideas on what to make, what patterns work, and what kinds of things people are interested in buying. Most of my work lately is things for other people, outside of my family, who have requested the shown item.

So, the first project is another “Tame Triceratops” designed by Debbie Tabor. This one was made using Mainstays Basics yarn in the color “Teal” and Big Twist Value yarn in the color “Soft Gray”.

You can grab the free instant download PDF of the pattern (which is part of an ebook called “Crochet Animals Big & Small” from Red Heart) by clicking this link: Crochet Animals Big & Small. Be advised that when you click the link it’ll automatically start downloading to your device!

Next project to share with you is “Ginnie the Giraffe” designed by Jess Huff. This cute guy was made for an infant girl who shares the same birthdate as Neelix the giraffe who was recently born (January 2019) at the Albuquerque Zoo. I used Mainstays Basics yarn in the color “Gold”, as well as Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the colors “Cafe Latte” and “Aran”.

You can get the free pattern for Ginnie the Giraffe on Ravelry.

The next finished project is one made just because I thought it was cute and wanted to see how it would turn out. It is called “Cuddle Me Dragon” by Amigurumi Today. By the way, if you love the patterns produced by Amigurumi Today you might be interested to know that you can download, for free, the Amigurumi Today app on Google Play and have ALL of their patterns ALWAYS at your fingertips!

My dragon turned out a little bit wonky, but only because I didn’t sew the head and horns on straight. If I make another one, I’ll surely take the extra time to do it right! I used medium weight yarns instead of what the pattern called for, so my dragon is much larger (about 10 inches tall). I used Red Heart Super Saver in the colors “Pumpkin” and “Cherry Red”. However, I didn’t bother with embroidering a nose onto it.

You can get the free pattern HERE. You always have the option of paying for a downloadable/printable copy of it with Amigurumi Today.

My 4 1/2 year old daughter thinks it’s really cute, despite my inner turmoil about it’s wonkiness, lol. She slept with it last night 😊

And last but not least, my Rainbow Unicorn pattern which I published here on the blog last week (in case you missed it!😊).

I have more projects on the hook, as well as some knitting projects, being planned and queued, so soon I’ll have more “Recent Makes” to share with you 😊

Until next time,

Happy Hookin’!

Amanda ❤️

Recent Makes

Busy Busy Busy! A photo post of my latest finished projects, with links to where to find the patterns!

Blog Problems

As I was skimming through old blog posts earlier today I noticed that one of my posts from back in September isn’t working https://crochetonthebrain.com/2018/09/25/learn-to-crochet-back-loop-single-crochet-ribbing-photo-tutorial/. I’ve since sent an email to WordPress to help me fix the problem, but it could be a few days before I hear back from them. Now, I am wondering if any of my other posts aren’t working properly?

Have you found anything not working properly here? If so, could you please let me know what problems you are experiencing so I can get to the bottom of it?

Thank you! 🙂

Amanda

UPDATE! The problem with said post above has now been fixed 🙂 Apparently I had the post format set to “image”, so only an image would show. I don’t remember ever doing this, as the post originally showed up correctly. Hmmm. However, it’s fixed…yay!

Crochet On The Brain Is Back On Facebook!

After much deliberation, I finally decided to re-make a fan page for Crochet On The Brain on Facebook. The original one was deleted months ago when I permanently deleted my old Facebook account. I don’t regret that decision, and it feels good to start over again…a clean slate 🙂

So, please, could you head over there and show your support by giving it a “like”? You can find a link to it on the right-hand side bar here on the blog ->

Or you can click this link Crochet On The Brain on FB!

By liking the page you not only show your support, but you’ll also receive all the blog updates right in your newsfeed.

Thank you so much 🙂

Weekly Update- June 17, 2018

Happy Sunday and Happy Father’s Day!

It’s been a productive week for me. Well, two weeks really, since my last “weekly” update. I’ve managed to get a fair bit of crocheting in, as well as tying in some loose ends and some spring cleaning (had to get something done before Summer officially gets here!). I needed to clear out the old energy, and make room for new, better energy!

I wrote up a “to do” list about two weeks ago, and for a change I didn’t forget about it. A number of things were scratched off the list.

I frogged, finally, my knit sweater (which I wrote about and shared a photo of HERE). I’ve been considering, talking about, and planning to frog it for a long time now. I began working on it back in the fall. I hadn’t touched it in quite a long time, and to be honest, I got bored with it and tired of it. So I took it apart and am currently figuring out what I’m going to make in place of it. I have 7 skeins of Caron Simply Soft (color Autumn Red). I’m thinking a poncho (crocheted). I did sit down on a few occasions since I frogged the sweater and played around with stitch patterns and gauge swatches to see what I could come up with. I’ve got a few great ideas brewing 🙂

That Ripple Blanket which I “finished” back in March, is really truly done now. I sat down a few nights ago and painstakingly tied in all of the yarn tails. As I was working on that, I turned to my husband and told him to never let me make another one again, lol. There were 22 colors, the color pattern repeated three times…too many tails! So now that it’s almost 100° F out there, the blanket is folded up, waiting for the cold weather to come back, in a large trash bag!

I published a couple of new patterns since my last update, and I’m happy that they’ve both been received well by readers. If you missed them, you can see them by clicking here: Bath Pouf- Free Pattern (With Photo Tutorial) and The Orange Cat- Free Pattern. I also re-blogged a couple of my older patterns, which you can check out here: Neck Pillow- Free Pattern and Best Friends Amigurumi- Free Pattern.

Chances are that if you’re reading/following this blog, you already know how to crochet. But if you don’t crochet, or you know of someone who wants to learn, I have begun a new series on learning! This is in response to the poll I recently held on the COTB Facebook fan page. The majority of voters chose that I publish How To’s/Tutorials for additional content on the blog. So, last week I published the introductory lesson, a post called Learn to Crochet- How To Make A Foundation Chain (FC)- Photo Tutorial. I plan to make regular posts on learning to crochet; the next one will be How To Single Crochet, which will also include a photo tutorial and probably a free pattern along with it. I will be doing tutorials for all of the basic stitches, and then I will move on to stitch patterns. I would love to do a video tutorial, but it’s not an option for me right now. We still live in a hotel, so we are all crammed into one room, and it’s never quiet. Well, the only time it’s quiet is when Olivia’s sleeping, but then Mommy and Daddy have to be quiet (relatively, lol). The TV is almost always on, even just as background noise. Anyway…point being…I have to stick with just photo tutorials for now. And do you know just how difficult it can be to make a photo tutorial? I only have two hands, and we only have one window for natural lighting, and Olivia loves to “help”. A simple photo session can take me hours, just trying to get the best possible picture! Having said that, I do hope that I’m able to help people learn, and that the photo’s I provide are useful and beneficial.

One of my newest WIP’s- Crossbody/Sling Purse– is just about complete. I’ve cut and sewn the lining for the bag, and it’s now pinned into the bag waiting to be sewn in. I just need about an hour of uninterupted time to do that, since all of my sewing is done by hand. Then it will be done. I even made a child sized version of it for Olivia, hers being in a bright yellow and purple striped pattern (her choice…she loves bright colors!). It won’t be lined though, at least not for a while, as the owl print fabric that I bought for my purse doesn’t coordinate well with the color scheme of hers. On my next supply shopping trip I’ll pick up a fabric that will work well with hers. Once my purse is completed, I will publish the pattern here on the blog. I have to admit that I was surprised at how many views my post about this WIP received. I think that maybe readers were hoping for a pattern to go along with it? Well, if that’s the case, readers won’t have to wait much longer for the pattern 🙂

I have also been working on revising Olivia’s Chocolate Milk Hoodigan , using Red Heart Super Saver (acrylic) instead of cotton, since the acrylic is cheaper and I have plenty of it! It’ll be a long while before it’s done though. I am hoping to have it done by the fall, but we’ll see. I’ve gotten a lot of my other “stuff” taken care of this week, and like I said at the beginning of this post, there is now room for new, better energy (to work on other things!). It does get to me to have so much unfinished business hanging around, cluttering up my space.

As for the Grenadine Doll, which I gave to Olivia, I’m not sure yet if I’ll be recreating it. I know in the beginning I thought I would be making a few of them, in different clothing and colors, as well as making a boy version. Maybe once I’m done with everything else that I’m doing, I’ll consider it again.

Yesterday was rainy and cool, a nice day to stay indoors and do a quickie project. So I created a new pattern, which should be published tomorrow sometime.

And I think that pretty much sums up this Weekly Update.

Until next post…