Friday, May 9, 2014

Lilly Gurls Easy Peasy Shrug ~FREE PATTERN~



I had been really preoccupied this week with a project and hadn’t taken the time to make Lilly a
Friday dress…. 

Whats a Friday dress you might ask? Well as the mom of seven kidlets I kinda feel like I don’t get to spend the alone time I should with each one. Or as often as Id like. One of the ways I try to combat the problem is by making weekly or every day chores or outings that are necessary seem like special events. Fridays are Miss Lilly Gurls day. 
Being the littlest she seems to always get the short end of the stick when it comes to special time. Oh sure she has all of us wrapped around her cute lil finger and she is never alone, but sometimes that’s the problem. All kinds of attention but little of it really concentrates on her.
So since I go out on Fridays to do the shopping and she and I are together I decided to make it our special thing. Sure were only going to regular old stores and eggs and milk might not be all that exciting but…….. we get dressed allllll up to do it. I make her a new dress every Friday and at the store that day we pick out fabric she likes for her next weeks adventure. She gets to feel extra special all dressed up and I love to see her smile. :)
So heres todays bit of yummmm……. The basic Lilly Gurl Easy Peasy Shrug……. hope you like it <3
Fits 4 to 5T
MATERIALS:
I hook
Worsted weight yarn (I used Vannas Choice 1 ball of the main and a lil bit for the contrast of another)
Scissors
Large eyed needle for weaving in ends
A lil cutie pie to put it on :)
Special Stitch:
HDC Cross Stitch…… skip one stitch and hdc in the next. hdc in the skipped stitch *repeat* across
chain 45
Row 1: hdc 3rd c hook….. HDC Cross Stitch 2x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) all in next stitch. HDC Cross Stitch 2x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) all in next stitch. HDC Cross Stitch 10x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) all in next stitch. HDC Cross Stitch 2x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) all in next stitch. HDC Cross Stitch 2x, hdc in each of the last 2 stitches.
Row 2: chain 2, turn. HDC Cross Stitch 3x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in the ch 1 space from previous row. HDC Cross Stitch 3x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in the ch 1 space from previous row. HDC Cross Stitch 11x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in the ch 1 space from previous row. HDC Cross Stitch 3x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in the ch1 space from the previous row. HDC Cross Stitch 3x, hdc in last stitch.
Row 3: ch 2 turn. Hdc in first st, HDC Cross Stitch 3x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stich 4x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 12x, then (hdc,ch1,hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 4x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 3x, hdc in last 2 stitches.
Row 4: ch 2 turn. HDC Cross Stitch 4x, then (hdc ch1 hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 5x, then (hdc ch1 hdc) in ch1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 13x,  then (hdc ch 1 hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 5x, then  (hdc ch1 hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 4x, hdc in last stitch.
Row 5: ch 2 turn, hdc in first st. HDC Cross Stitch 4x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 6x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 14x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitchcross 6x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 4x, then hdc in last 2 stitches.
Row 6: ch 2 turn, HDC Cross Stitch 5x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 7x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 15x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 7x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 5x, then hdc in last stitch. Ch 2, turn.
In the next row we keep it even across the back only growing the arm holes.
Row 7: hdc in first st, HDC Cross Stitch 4x, hdc in next st, then (hdc ch1 hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 8x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. Hdc in next st, HDC Cross Stitch 14x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 8x, then (hdc, ch1, hdc) in ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 4x, then hdc in last 2 stitches.
Joining sleeves
Row 8: ch 2 turn. HDC Cross Stitch 5x, then fold piece so that the next 2 ch 1 spaces match up. hdc in first ch 1 space, ch 1 THRU BOTH ch 1 spaces (joining sleeve) and turn the work to the back and hdc in the 2nd ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 16x, cross in next 32, then fold piece so that the next 2 ch 1 spaces match up. hdc in first ch 1 space, ch 1 THRU BOTH ch 1 spaces (joining sleeve) and turn the work to the back and hdc in the 2nd ch 1 space. HDC Cross Stitch 5x, hdc in last st.
Row 9 – 11: Ch 2, turn. HDC Cross Stitch 29x, hdc in last stitch.
Edging:
At the end of the last row, 3 hdc in last st and turn work on its side going up front edge…… 2 hdc , 1 hdc, 2 hdc and so on until you reach top neck edge……3 hdc in last. Sc in each st across neck edge, and continue rounding the corners with 3 hdc and and following the 2 hdc, 1 hdc pattern down front edge putting 2 hdc in last. slip stitch into final stitch.
Trim colors:
Join new color some where near center back with right-side (outside) of shrug facing you. Sc all the way around in each stitch placing 3 sc in the middle hdc at each corner.
Begining the Picot.
Slip st into first st and chain 3. slip stitch into 2nd ch of the ch 3…. skip 1 stitch along main bottom edge of shrug and slip st into the next. chain 3. slip st into 2nd ch. skip 1 st along bottom edge and slip st into the next. Repeat all the way around. Fasten off in beginning stitch.
Weave in all ends.
Sleeve Edges:
With the right side facing you join contrast color on the bottom edge of sleeve and sc all the way around. Repeat picot edging as you did around the body of the shrug. Fasten off weave in ends. Repeat on second sleeve.
Find a lil cutie pie to put on your Lilly Gurl Easy Peasy Shrug and watch them smile :)
Dont forget to stop by and say “Hi” over at my Facebook page Strings and Things :)
And come visit my lil You Tube Channel Crochet Supernova! Let me know if this, or something else, might be what youd like to see a video tutorial on :)
And I just opened a new group on Facebook called Crochet Supernova where we can share our love of crafts and support one another in becoming the brightest versions of our creative selves….. come on over and join….. its brand new, so help get the party started <3
****Please remember I am NOT a professional pattern writer …. just a momma that likes to play with yarn. If you think something isnt quite right, feel free to let me know:) *******

Monday, May 5, 2014

FlashDance: A Modern Twist ~ FREE SWEATER PATTERN


There are so many ways to make and wear this fun lil sweater…. you could make short sleeves, a
tighter neck, a longer length, could be a swim cover, or worn over a tank….. It flatters all body types and works up quickly….. in short, or not so short, its the perfect go to cute crochet sweater for all ages.
I would recommend using a light worsted weight for this one. I used 2 strands of Caron Simply Soft, but feel free to use what makes you smile :) You are going to need very few things to make this look…….
Materials:
2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft either in the same color or complimenting colors (you will be holding the two strands together)
A large eyed needle for weaving in ends
Scissors
A giant size Q crochet hook
A tape measure
A swatch of paper and a pen for jotting a few lil numbers after you measure
Lets get started!
With your tape measure hold your arms out straight and measure across from one point of where you would like your sleeves to end, across the upper chest to the end to the other end sleeve point. Write this number down. *My measurement was 38 inches, this came to about 1.5 to 2 inches below the elbow….. when on it shrinks up a bit for fit*
With your two strands held together as one and your Q hook, chain the length of the number you wrote down. *My chain was 44 + 2 (46 total)*
Row 1: DC in 3rd ch from the hook and in each across (45 st total)
Row 2:Chain 3 and turn….. DC in each st across (45 total)
Continue row 2 for a total of 5 rows and fasten off. Repeat the steps for the other side.
IMPORTANT: The top of the sweater, where the neck opening is, has the starting chain line. This must be next to the neck on both sleeves before joining. This makes it nice and easy to blend the join on the body :)
Section of 15, 15, 15 (this is in my case….. you can have your sleeves and head opening as large or small as you like) I like the open sleeve look although you can close it as well for a full sleeve sweater. If you are doing the open sleeve tie each section and weave in the ends at the appropriate points. 1 at the beginning of the sleeve, skip 15 dc and then tie in that space weaving in the ends. Skip 15 dc and tie in the space weaving in ends and then the last tie and weave at the end of the sleeve.
(remember these are my numbers, yours may be different)
Under the arm tie your first section (stitch if its not left open)….. skip 10 from the end and tie in the space and weave in ends. do the same to the other side. ( you may want to go deeper in before beginning the body…. I wanted a wider look to try maybe some different tie ups with the bottom, experiment and have fun <3 )
Body:
Join yarn again and working in the round begin to create the body. **Chain 2, DC in each stitch around and join with a slip stitch to the chain 2**. Continue **this** for as long as you would like your sweater. Fasten off weave in ends and………….
ROCK your new look ;)
Dont forget to come join me on my Facebook page …. Strings and Things :) and join in the conversation and the fun in our Facebook group called Crochet Supernova :) See you there I hope :)

Roll of the Dice Afghan ~FREE PATTERN

We’ve been having a hard time finding spring here in the northern part of Minnesota. Just dark and snowy and rainy and blech. This weekend blessed us in a beautiful way with sunshine (before the clouds rolled right back in, but ohhhh it was kinda pretty) and the ice coming out on the lake …. but I needed some color. Some bright touch of happy that would make me smile. And sometimes I just wanna to shake it up a bit. We as crocheters can get caught up in the “pattern” rut and it can keep us from doing larger more monotonous projects.
Here’s a way I’ve found to shake it up a bit. I literally roll the dice. Pick your colors ~ I like to go with odd numbers and 5 seems to be the magic one for me. Get yourself a single die and lets get rollin’!
Materials:
Sport, dk worsted its up to you….. for the example shown I used I Love This Yarn! in worsted weight (10ply) in the colors Black, Key Lime, Tropical Pink, Amethyst and Turquoise.
Size I hook
A yarn needle
A scissors
A 6 sided die (dice)
Totally optional but encouraged chocolate and a smile :)
I started out and my project grew and grew quickly ….. I think it brought out the sun even to take a peek :)) I had a wonderful time on the deck in the spring sunshine sippin’ tea and soaking up the warmth. It’s a great stitch you dont have think much about, but with the color changes and vertical stripe it makes for a fun project. Lets round up our materials and get hookin’!

This pattern is a multiple of 3 stitches + 2
The stripes in this blanket run vertical instead of the traditional horizontal.
Choose the order you would like your yarn to appear in…. meaning what sequence as this wont change.
Next with your beginning color chain 164
Now roll your dice (die)! What ever the number says is however many rows you do of your first stripe…..
Row 1: In the 5th chain from the hook, **work 1 sc, ch 2 and 2 dc in the same st… skip 2 chains** and repeat across to the last 3 chains ….. skip 2 and work 1 dc in the last.
(if you rolled a 1 you would change colors here and roll the dice again, if not continue to work your color in the pattern)
Row 2: Chain 3 and turn. Work 1 sc, ch 2 and 2 dc in the first ch-2 space from the previous row. Repeat this in all of the ch-2 spaces across. Work 1 dc in the chain 3 space at the end of the row.
If you need to roll, do it now. if you need to join a new color, do it :)
Repeat row 2 until desired width. Keep changing colors and rolling the dice until you cant get back across the complete row.
******Weaving in the ends as you go will save a ton of headaches in the end******

Finishing
On this afghan I decided to use all of the ends I had left over to do a multi colored single chain all the way around the blanket, making sure to put 3 sc in each corner for ease. I then used my left over black to do a round of half double crochet.
I havent decided yet, but I do have some pink….. I may even go ’round again and give the edge a nice picot. What do ya think? To picot, or not to picot?
Come join me over on my Facebook page Strings and Things….. its a place where I post ideas and pictures and projects and patterns that are coming up next. And I would love to hear some ideas from you :) And our Facebook group where you can share with other wonderful crafters and artists called Crochet Supernova :) see you there :)
Thanks for stoppin’ by….. <3