Bargain Bag Baby Blankets

It has been a miserable wet long weekend. That is the down side, but the up side is that this is perfect crochet weather. I have been working on a number of things and have a backlog of unfinished projects. Numerous afghans that seemed such a great idea at the time, until I got bored or summer arrived. One of my goals is to try and reduce the number of half finished afghans lurking in the cupboard as well as use up some of that yarn that was such a bargain at the end of last season.

One such bargain was a huge bag of chunky baby yarn in yellow, lavender and blue. Seems that the number of baby girls out numbered the boys as there was no pink remaining. At 50cents a ball for top quality yarn I couldn't resist and sneakily brought into the house a bag of  15 balls - 2 aqua, 9 lemon and 4 lavender. My primal instincts of hunter gatherer had been stirred. Was never sure what I was going to do with the stuff  but reasoned with myself that the reason I had so many half finished rugs in the cupboard was that my intentions were too big!  That is, if they had been planned to be half the size then they would have been finished ages ago. (And the yarn was so deliciously soft and snugly).

Having always wanted to try a few of the more challenging styles of crochet, I figured I would give it a go. This included entrelac, tunisian and the waffle reversible patterns. So here are my creations which have now been passed to a few young mums with bubs on the way. The trick is that the colours are gender neutral and did turn out quite pretty.

Baby blanket Number 1 
 This was my first serious attempt at tunisian and I worked it on one of those bamboo hooks with the nylon extensions that was also on the bargain table. As I had an uneven aqua/ lavender/ lemon ratio in my bargain bag I worked this to use up the aqua.

This one turned out really pretty, and the texture of the blanket scrumptious. Lovely furrows of snugly colourful goodness!



Baby Blanket number 2- checkerboard.

My confidence with tunisian was improving so I embarked on some entrelac. I must say, this nearly did my head in. Logically to build up blocks from the corners messed with my mind and the habit of crocheting in rows. Once I had the knack of it, I really enjoyed the pattern.

 



This was an adaption of an entrelac pattern. Because the yarn was so chunky I worked it in trebles (USA dc) with a size 8 tunisian hook. I really like the simplicity of the design and it gives a nice firm fabric that little fingers wont get caught up in. Now lavender and lemon checker board may not be every ones cup of tea, but I can honestly say that I do like this colour mix.

The entralac does need to be finished with a boarder edge as some of my checkers were a bit wonky.




Baby Blanket number 3- reversible waffle


This was constructed using a simple V stitch on a base of 60 ch. The reverse occurs as you use one colour for all the even rows, and the second for all the odd rows, This is quite a thick fabric with a nice drape as I used a large hook

Row 1, using Colour A : 2ch, * miss one st, into next st (1tr 1ch 1tr) miss 1 st, 1dc next st* across

Row 2, using colour B: 2ch * 1dc into ch sp, insert hook horizontally under dc of prev row and work (1tr 1ch 1tr)* across. At the end of the row insert your hook under the 1st st at the beginning of the row.


If I did this one again I would use a lighter yarn and choose colours with a stronger contrast. This is quite a heavy blanket and would be suitable for a baby planning an antarctic expedition! I haven't given this one away yet as it is not really suitable for the Queensland born babies I know.

So 14+ balls were used and I have about half a ball of lemon left. I also feel much more proficient at tunison, and ended up with a nice stock of baby blankets for a mere $7.50 AUS!
Thanks for looking.

Afghans that boomerang

I'm Back!!

Hello! After a blog break I am back. Not sure where I went, but with floods, house renos, travel, kids and a full time job things have been busy. The good news is I have a huge back log of things to share with you all. I have decided that a number of my afghans have become "boomerangs". That being, they have come back to me! Some under sad cirmunstances and others under happy ones. When my Mum in Law passed on one of the things I realised when cleaning out her treasures was how many things I had crocheted her over the years. I have posted about this previoususly but I dont recall sharing the afghans with you that I had gifted her.

The circle one above I remember doing in the late 80s when the kids were tiny. Quite a simple pattern and on reflection I do like how the colours work. Grandma was always a cheery lady and she proudly displayed this on her couch. It is a wagon whell motif out of a very old book and I remember paying particular attention to the placement of the colours. I had forgotten how simple but effective this pattern is.

Our daughter has lived in the Southern States since she finished school and went to the Australian National University in Canberra and subsequently landed a job in Melbourne. Both are bitterly cold (when benchmarked against Gold Coast weather) which has enabled me to generously send her off with crochet woolies to keep her warm. She has now decided to take 6 months leave from her job and travel overseas. The time has never been better as the Aussie dollar is so strong I really think this is a terrific thing to do.




The sequalie to this is that she has to minimise her "stuff" and put the remainder into storage while she is away. I guess the benefit of her living a couple of thousand kilometres away is that her "stuff" wont be getting stored at our place. Lordie I have enough stuff (aka junk) of my own! Yet the afghans, she feels were bulky, and as she tactfully put it in "90s colours", so she has returned them to me.

Actually, I lugged them back from Melbourne in my suitcase when I visited her last weekend. That with an enviable collection of Myer bears, and of course
 my own Melbourne purchases, I just met the Qantas baggage limit.

The orange and brown number she requested to match her charity store bought orange and brown couch she had in her student digs. I noticed recently (on her fobidden facebook face) that this had been used as a decoration at a friends 80s parts. Truth is I made it in the 90s, and she chose the colours. It seems the perfect party discussion point and  soaks up the beer slops quite good as well! Good thing I used acrylic yarn so it washes quite well.






The photo to the right is a bit dodgy, but this square uses a front post treble to give it a bit of texture. This was quite a brainless crochet and travelled well. The two coloured effect also looks good. Not sure that I would ever do another one like this as there was a lot of dark brown to join which was pretty tough on the eyes.
There are a few more which I will post in the coming weeks. Now that winter is approaching it is perfect weather to bring them all out of the cupboard and appreciate them.

Take Care! Cheers Susan

Welcome Spring with a wool afghan!

Welcome Spring with a wool afghan!

Spring has arrived. I know this because of the chorus of parrots and kookaburras that wake me each morning at 6 am. As if somehow nature knows that the calendar has turned over, it was 29 degrees here on the 1st of September. I did manage to crochet my way through winter and have a pile of finished objects to prove it.

My winter total is: 6 baby blankets, 1 woolen afghan, 1 hairpin shawl, 3 interesting other shawls, a and a plethora of hats and scarfs. I have also finalised a few new patterns which have been in development for sometime. I decided I would update the formatting as I now have a u beaut laptop with the latest version of word. While the documents do have a nice modern edge, the new word is counter intuitive which has slowed me down a bit. I have however added the following to my pattern collection:

Vintage style beanies, Tasmanian devils, cow rugalugs, spiral beanie, super slippers, and a few new tea cosy designs. I will add these to etsy over the next few weeks.

So welcome Spring, and what better way than with finishing an afghan - pure Australian wool of course.

The pattern is from the book 63 more squares which a kind person RAOKed me a few years back. It has been in my list of things to do for a while as I searched out the right yarn.

It is almost a year since our road trip and one of the holiday discoveries was the Bendigo woollen Mills. This was like a lolly shop to a fat kid with a sweet tooth as I came out with an enviable supply of top quality Australian Wool and bargain price's in a stunning array of colours. The other thing that Bendigo has lots of is pottery, and I also managed to have a rather large biscuit barrel fall into my handbag as well.

I have made my daughter several rugs over the years but these somehow always seem to turn up as decorating items, or being worn at Retro parties by the trendy Melbourne crowd.

Think Retro and the obvious thing is to drag out Mums crochet rugs! I know this cos they often feature on Facebook. I have no idea who the people below are, but I do know I crocheted the orange rug that they are sharing along with a beer and a few good times. And, this rug was made in the 90s, and not in the 70s!

She has also stated that it is the highlighter pen colours which assist in setting the mood.

So the challenge for me was to construct a tasteful (!) afghan with a contemporary edge(whatever that is).

I didn't do the full 63 blocks as wool is quite heavy and I wanted a couch throw rather than a full bedspread.

The colours are Navy and maroon with variegation's of creams and blues. All pure Australian wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mill. This is yarn to die for. My only regret is that we don't have a bigger boot as I would have loved to have bought more. I started the rug last November while on the trip and finished it this winter.

I love it to bits, and I haven't seen it as a backdrop on Facebook which is a good sign ( I think),

thanks for looking.

Barramundi Fish crochet square

The barramundi is the most delicious fish and is found in our freshwater streams of Northern and Coastal Australia. Barramundi is an aboriginal word meaning large scaly fish. While they are native to Australia they are farmed fish in other parts of the world.



When I was a kid I remember going on the school bus trip to the Northern Territory. One of the things we did was to go fishing on the Kathryn River where I caught with a hand line the most amazing fish. This was the barramundi and had the most wonderful taste. Up till that point in my life I had only had whiting and the odd bit of fish and chip shop flake. When you have fresh fish, caught from the river and cooked on the camp fire it is amazing.



The other memorable fish experiences I have savoured are Canadian Salmon when I was in Montreal. This has to be tasted to be believed, and the New Zealand Orange Roughy. Barramundi is in my opinion and to my taste buds up there with the best.

So number 10 in my rugalugs collection is the barramundi fish. I kept this one pretty simple, with the option of a goggle eye. I don't usually like goggle eyes as I think they often look a bit silly, but they do give the fish personality.


I designed this one in two sizes and then came up with baby wash cloth pattern. I was thinking these would be fabulous for baby showers or last minute gifts. Also a great use of scraps. the pastels look pretty in the real but don't photograph real well.

I have also gone crazy on making fishy hats for my etsy store. This uses the basic hat technique in my pig and penguin pattern sets.

I love doing these as this is an easier motif compared to some of my previous ones, and looks really effective. An afghan done in these would look pretty cute. I have listed the pattern for the fish square on my etsy store.

Spring is here now and I will probably slow down with the yarn as the weather warms.

Thanks for looking!

(c) copyright crochetroo. Ideas not to be copied.

Tasmanian Tiger Crochet Square

Rugalugs square number 9 is the Tasmanian Tiger which can also be used as a kitty cat, or a tiger and other feline friends depending on the use of colour.

This is the 9th square in my rugalugs series. I decided I needed a cat, so the Tasmanian Tiger was the perfect critter to choose. The story of the Tasmanian tiger or thylacine is a sad one as they were declared extinct in 1986. The Tasmanian tiger was a marsupial dog with a pouch like a wombat, a head like a dog, and stripes and tail like a tiger. So it was never really a cat at all! The same way as the Koala was never a bear.

The last known thylacine was captured in 1933 and died in 1936. Their demise was accompanied by European settlement and the introduction of sheep to Australia. As a carnivorous animal they were captured and killed by the farmers. The government at the time placed a bounty on the slaughter of the thylacine. They became rare and in the early 1900s were purchased by zoos around the world. The last one died in the Hobart Zoo on the 7th of September 1936. The 7th of September is now marked as 'Threatened Species Day'.

The story of the thylacine is a message to us all in conservation and protection of native species. It demonstrates how far we have come in less than 100 years in terms of environmental awareness, and how awful we have been in the past in respecting the world around us. I cant fathom what the heck the early settlers were thinking? I read somewhere it was about the sheep, as the tigers used to kill them. Such a tragedy that the farmers had such little appreciation for the special creatures we had here. We took the kids to Tasmania a few years back and had a great time trying to see a tiger as we drove around. It is such stunning state to visit, but sadly no tigers.

Domestic cats can be a bit of an environmental nuisance as they kill our birds and wildlife. The feral cat is also quite destructive on the environment, and the native critters at risk as they compete against the introduced species.

I came up with a tail end. The boys call this (rather crudely) his date hole. You can turn the tail around and add a bow for effect. The real tiger had a stripey tail and you can get this effect in variegated yarn. I have done it plain as this photographs much better fro my blog.

And this is little Tasmanian Tiger Kitty.

I designed this square in 2 sizes with the potential to be adapted into a kitty cat as well as a tiger.

The tigers look great on stuff for little boys and I have been making a few hats with tigers on the front. One day when I have finished designing all of these squares I might get round to making an afghan out of them all. At the moment I am enjoying the fun of making little projects with little kids in mind. Our daughters boyfriend is a mad Tigers supporter. She has crossed the floor from Queensland to New South Wales now which is quite risky behaviour!

Tiger Teams always have good colours though. The yellow gold and black is pretty stunning!

My next rugalugs is a Baramundi Fish. So far it looks terrific and I will share it with you soon.

Thanks for looking!

(c) copyright crochetroo 2007. Do not copy or imitate as this is bad karma and your chooks will turn into emus and kick your dunny down!

Bonnet Babies crochet square (free pattern)

1. Koala, 2. Duck, 3. Kangaroo, 4. Penguin, 5. Red Eyed Frog, 6. Year of the Pig Square

Meet the Bonnet Babies. This is number 7 in my rugalugs series.

I designed this one as as quick novelty square to be used in charity blankets and rugs. My intention here that this one would be free on my blog. While the pattern is copyright and you cant sell it, you can make as many things as you can for charity. That is the goal!

Each square uses a minimum of yarn and I imagined they would look quite colourful in a variety of colours. The hardest part is finding a good skin coloured yarn; light apricot often works well, but is hard to find.

There are actually 2 squares - a bonnet baby girl, and a bonnet baby boy. The girl has a frilly bonnet, and the boy a plain bonnet. I like to add a dimensional component to my squares, and the bonnets, bow and nose all pop out. I suggest you mix these with a plain granny. While this square is about 11cm/4inches you can make it larger by adding extra rounds. I am sure they have multiple applications, and with Easter approaching bonnets are in season!

I hope you like it. If you do use it I would love to hear which charities you are supporting, and even see some photos of finished products. It is so easy to download something from the internet, without providing feedback.

As with all my patterns there are both Australian /British and American versions. So make sure you use the correct one or your babies might look a bit odd. Have fun!

Bonnet Baby Square (c) 2007crochetroo
Australian instructions

· 8 ply yarn, worsted weight, or double knit yarn - size 8 (4mm) hook
· Square measures approximately 11cm/ 4inches.
· The Baby is worked in anticlockwise rounds giving a right and wrong side. Some stitches are worked through the front or back loops only so look out for these.

Baby Face

Skin Colour
Round 1: 4ch into 4th ch from hook work 10tr, 4tr popcorn, slst into top of start ch to form a circle =12.

Round 2: 3ch, 1tr same place, (2tr next st) around, slst join finish off, weave in ends= 24

Bonnet colour
Round 3: Join bonnet colour in the first st of round 2. Work front loops only.
Girl: 1dc next 6, (3tr next st, 1dc next st) 5times, 1dc next 6st, bows – (1dc 8ch 1slst into dc) into next st twice, slst join and weave in ends.

Boy: 1dc next 6, 2htr next st, 2tr next 8st, 2htr next st, 1dc next 6st, bows – (1dc 8ch 1slst into dc) into next st twice, slst join and weave in ends.

Background

Round 1: This round is worked in back loops only. Each side consists of a corner, and 4 stitches along the side. Check that your baby is centred.
Fold the bonnet forward, join contrast in back loop behind 3rd dc to the left of the bow. (3ch 1tr 2ch 2tr) into this loop, *1dc next 4st along side of head, miss 1st, work corner (2tr 2ch 2tr) next st, repeat pattern from * finishing with a slst into top of starting ch.

Round 2: From here you will work between the stitches. All corners are 3tr 3ch 3tr.
Slst to 2ch sp, (3ch 2tr 3ch 3tr) start corner into this sp, * (miss 2, 2tr between stitches) 3times make corner of (3tr 3ch 3tr) in ch sp, repeat pattern from * finishing with a slst into top of starting ch.

Round 3: Start with a slst in a corner. Work (1dc 3ch 1dc) in corners; 3ch 1dc in spaces around. Slst finish off round.

Stitch 2 eyes either side of nose. I weave the yarn through the stitches to get a neat finish.
Stitch a rose bud mouth under nose.

Bonnet Baby Square (c) 2007 crochetroo
American instructions

· 8 ply yarn, worsted weight, or double knit yarn - size 8 (4mm) hook
· Square measures approximately 11cm/ 4inches.
· The Baby is worked in anticlockwise rounds giving a right and wrong side. Some stitches are worked through the front or back loops only so look out for these.

Baby Face

Skin Colour
Round 1: 4ch into 4th ch from hook work 10dc, 4dc popcorn, slst into top of start ch to form a circle =12.

Round 2: 3ch, 1dc same place, (2dc next st) around, slst join finish off, weave in ends= 24

Bonnet colour
Round 3: Join bonnet colour in the first st of round 2. Work front loops only.
Girl: 1sc next 6, (3dc next st, 1sc next st) 5times, 1sc next 6st, make bows – (1sc 8ch 1slst into c) into next st twice, slst join and weave in ends.

Boy: 1sc next 6, 2hdc next st, 2dc next 8st, 2hdc next st, 1sc next 6st, make bows – (1sc 8ch 1slst into sc) into next st twice, slst join and weave in ends.

Background

Round 1: This round is worked in back loops only. Each side consists of a corner, and 4 stitches along the side. Check that your baby is centred.
Fold the bonnet forward, join contrast in back loop behind 3rd dc to the left of the bow. (3ch 1dc 2ch 2dc) into this loop, *1sc next 4st along side of head, miss 1st, work corner (2dc 2ch 2dc) next st, repeat pattern from * finishing with a slst into top of starting ch.

Round 2: From here you will work between the stitches. All corners are 3dc 3ch 3dc.
Slst to 2ch sp, (3ch 2dc 3ch 3dc) start corner into this sp, * (miss 2, 2dc between stitches) 3times, make corner (3dc 3ch 3dc) in ch sp, repeat pattern from * finishing with a slst into top of starting ch.

Round 3: Start with a slst in a corner. Work (1sc 3ch 1sc) in corners; 3ch 1sc in spaces around. Slst finish off round.

Stitch 2 eyes either side of nose. I weave the yarn through the stitches to get a neat finish.
Stitch a rose bud mouth under nose.

Thanks for looking, and enjoy your babies.

(c) crochetroo Australia 2007

Fairy penguin crochet square - rugalugs motif

Fairy Penguin crochet square

This motif is based the Australian Fairy Penguin, the smallest of the penguin family and is found only in southern Australia and New Zealand. Fairy penguins weigh approximately 1 kilogram and stand 30 cm high. They live in burrows, and are seen on the beach. Fairy penguins never see the snow. I have seen these in New Zealand and in Victoria a few years back. They are the most fascinating little creatures. Some are more of a blue colour than black, and each year hundreds die because of oil slicks. A few years back there was a major problem in Tasmania and the community rallied and knitted them little jumpers. Next spill (not that I want one) I am organising a crochet jumper effort. Check out this link:

http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/environment_sciences/report-7145.html

Other penguins are found in Antarctica to the south of Australia.

Lots of kids cartoons show Eskimos, igloos, polar bears and penguins living harmoniously together. This in fact would never happen in the real world. Mainly because you will never see a polar bear and a penguin together as they live at different poles! A penguin would be very lost to have reached the North pole! I guess the poor little fellows would never get to meet Santa either.

This square is another in my rugalugs series which are for sale at my etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=44224

The only way I can promote my work is on the net. I also like to promote an environmental message as well. So crochet, the net and the environment - what an unlikely trio!

I am quite enjoying these and a few more on the burner. I start off with an idea, and then do several in order to get the look right. The hardest bit is getting them into a geometric shape. They will need blocking, and even if they are a bit wonky, they never the less seem to pull into shape if surrounded by a contrast block. A whole rug, or afghan would look so cool!

My son has decided he wants a rug to match his room out of these. They look very cute in brights as well as pastels. He wants black arround it, but I am thinking I might introduce some white into the contrast square.

I also then came up with a hat design. No point having a square if you have to make dozens of the things to make a rug! The hats turned out pretty ok as well.

The orangey one is in pure Australian wool which feels wonderful. Although it is our summer and people would think you quite crazy if you wore a beanie on the Gold Coast at the moment! They would look kinda comfy on a little head once the winter arrives.

The pastel penguins are quite sweet. I am imaging these in a pram rug in soft blues and pinks.

Thanks for looking. Please respect my copyright. These images and ideas are protected and remain my intellectual property. (c)2007 crochetroo.

Crochet Ripple Rug circa 8Os

Voila the Ripple rug that I did in the 80s. This one has been stuffed in the back of a cupboard for a while now as zig zag crochet became crass. I remember doing this one when the kids were young. I like the effect of the rainbow. Basically this was all odds and sods and I somehow managed to get a pattern in the way the colours worked.

The stitch is a simple treble or double crochet as the Americans would say. I can't believe I ever did this. There is no way I would take on something of this size again. Those rows are quite long - 300 stitches across, and 164 rows of 10 up, 2ch, 10 down, miss 1 and then up again. The zig zag ripple gives the fabric a bit of stretch. This rug used to be a favourite for sleepovers when the kids were little. Now it is stuffed in a cupboard. I am sure it will have a few more days of glory if I hang onto it.

It is worked in 5 ply yarn which is hard to come by now, and double knit or 8 ply seems to have taken over.

Any hoos thanks for looking!