Crochet Piano Keyboard

 

I've finally made good use of my craft time and completed this 88-key crochet piano scarf. It's based on this patter from Crochet Spot. It's not exactly the size of a real keyboard, as the keys are a little too wide and too short.

But it does make for a nice conversation piece if you keep the right side out at all times (the back side just has extra black and white crochet stripes).

And you can get this fantastic empow(her) shirt at at our local Indigo Store. RIP RBG.

Crochet Heart Wreath

It's that time of the year for heart-shaped decorations! Here's a heart-shaped wreath covered in crochet flowers made from any scrap yarn with red, pink or purple hues.

Really, I only used scrap yarn for this project! Way too much pink and red yarn in this house... The only thing I purchased was some floral wire that I shaped into a heart by twisting it together, overlapping it 3 times.


Darice Floral Paper Wrap Wire Brown 8 Yards

For the flowers, I used a variety of free patterns from my fellow crochet artists. The largest flower in the center is Lisa's Rose Crochet Flower Pattern.

Another interesting pattern is Mikey's Crochet Bee Happy Flowers. This is reminiscent of the Crazy Exponential Necklace as it simply triples from row to row. I couldn't make it to the fourth row, but three is plenty. Up close, this flower looks like brain folds!

The majority of the flower uses Jenn's Small Rosette Pattern. It's quick and easy to make.

Attaching the flowers to the wireframe is a little tricky. The first time I tried to assemble them, the flowers would flop to the side and wouldn't stay in the front. I found a technique that worked to keep the flowers steady.

Using a yarn needle, thread one end between the wires so that the flower faces forward. This may be one or two wires depending on where the flower falls on the wire twist. The flower below is threaded under one wire.

Thread one end in between wires on the front side

Tie the flower on the backside of the wireframe. The flower below, shown from the backside, is threaded under two wires. Arrange all the flowers with ties until you are happy with the spacing.

Once all the flowers are positioned, untie each flower and knot it in place. Then wrap one end around all three wires and knot it again. Trim the excess ends. This is how it will look from the backside.

Hang and enjoy! Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Sunflower Crochet

I had a large amount of yellow Super Saver yarn, so I thought, what better project to use it on than a sunflower? I found this pattern online but created it with a few modifications:  Amigurumi: Happy Sunflower.

At the end of July last year, we drove through Lee, New Hampshire and passed by this incredible sunflower farm in full bloom. I have never seen so many sunflowers in one place!

Image credit: Coppal House Farm

The process of creating this amigurumi was a long one. In the middle, it looked like some alien plant had taken over my table.

When I started the assembly, everything looked disproportionate. The head looked way too big and the petals looked too small. So I frogged back the head several rows, which made the eyes look super large, but not too bad. I also didn't have any felt for the eyes so I just sewed them in with embroidery floss.  Then I frogged back all the petals to the row with 16 stitches and increased them to 20 stitches before decreasing again. This required attaching new yarn when I ran out of the original. It took forever!

But in the end, I have this happy sunflower to greet me!

Lighted Crochet Christmas Tree

This glowing tree was inspired by Petals to Picot Cone Christmas Tree pattern. Since I already had two shades of green Super Saver yarn and a mini LED light set, it was the perfect project!

This idea started from this ugly knitted tree we saw at Target. I thought I could make a better tree decoration than that!

A quick look around the internet for yarn trees got some "interesting" alternatives. Sure you can just throw yarn onto a cone with some glue, but where's the skill in that?

Here's the one stop shopping list for the materials the lighted crochet tree (Walmart is cheaper for Super Saver yarn and foam core!):


Red Heart Super Saver Yarn Spring Green (I used glow worm but Amazon doesn't have that anymore)


Red Heart Super Saver Yarn Paddy Green


FloraCraft Packaged Styrofoam Cones, 12-Inch-by-4-Inch


20 Warm White Micro LED Battery Operated String Lights

For the pattern, I found that following the Petals to Picot pattern ended up flaring the cone to quickly as well as producing bent lines where the increases were. So after frogging half the project, I modified the pattern to something that fits better and is far more intuitive to keep track of.

1. Using a size F, 3.75 mm crochet hook, create a magic ring with 4 sc.
2. In each row, work 1sc into every stitch and 2sc into in a random stitch in the row. Each row will have exactly one stitch more than the previous row.
3. Alternate yarn color randomly every 1 to 4 rows.
4. After reaching a few inches in length, check the fit in the styrofoam cone (works best with the plastic wrap on).
5. If the work starts to flare out, skip the increase on the next row. I found that I had to skip the increase about every 3rd or 4th row.
6. Keep checking the fit every time you change yarn color, or every other row.
7. Continue until the piece reaches the bottom of the cone.

How's that for a super simple pattern with no counting! At the bottom, I ended up with 66 stitches in the last row. If you end with a multiple of 6, you can attach the bottom piece stitch for stitch.

For the bottom piece, crochet a simple circle using the same color at the bottom of the cone:

R1: 6sc in magic ring – 6
R2: inc around – 12
R3: (sc, inc) around – 18
R4: (2sc, inc) around – 24
R5: (3sc, inc) around – 30
Continue adding rows with incremental sc's amounts until you reach the same diameter as the cone.

To assemble, use a crochet hook to fish out the tiny LEDs from the inside. Stuff the tip of the cone with polyfill. Carefully fit in the styrofoam cone without dislodging the LEDs. I just kept the plastic wrap on the cone. Join the top and bottom pieces together by crocheting through both pieces with a slip stitch. Having the bottom fit exactly to the cone is one of my favorite parts!

In the daytime, the lights are so small, you can barely see them.

But in the evening, it becomes something magical!

Crochet Mini Stocking POP!

Eight years ago, I embarked on a pursuit to create hand-knit ornaments as gifts. That lasted exactly two pairs of mini-mittens, which both ended up on our Christmas tree.



Yes, that's chubby Dova 8 years ago!

I gave up the notion of giving away hand-knit ornaments, but when I saw the Mini Stocking POP! pattern by Vickie Howell on Jo-Ann fabrics for crochet stockings, I was more than game to add to our own knit ornament collection.

Their pattern calls for two colors, but I simply used all the colors from the extra yarn for Dova's Crochet American Girl doll blankets and came up with the one you see here. It was fun and easy to make, a little weird around the heel, but no one's going to wear it, so no matter!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Crochet Granny Square Blanket for American Girl Dolls

Who would think that having a daughter with an American Girl doll would inspire me to learn to crochet? I guess doing a smaller size blanket is the perfect learning project.  I first saw this free crochet pattern from Liberty Jane Patterns.  After watching numerous YouTube videos on crocheting granny squares, I finally got the hang of putting together these cute blankets.  I used an H8 5mm crochet hook with medium weight yarn. Luckily I could also use a lot existing knitting yarn. In total there are 12 squares in this blanket in a 4x3 rectangle.

Of course both dolls needed their own blankets.



This awesome bunk bed came for Christmas from Santa Target.  It is really wonderful for the dolls!  Ivy's American Girl Crafts Owls Sew and Stuff Kitwas lovingly stitched by Dova herself.