Watermelon crochet for the summer

After making my granddaughter's watermelon purse, I still wanted to make more watermelon crochet projects. I made one using the Knifty Knitter loom. The hard part was getting the colors in the right order when you add a cuff. I tore it out four times until I came up with something I liked. The seeds were going to be made with black glossy fabric paint, but ended up being embroidered in.

Now I'm working on different color combinations to get a similar effect. I made one in pinks, but I have one with really bright colors on the loom now. Who knows if it will work, but it's fun trying. Below is the pink hat and a lavender one that I made with the swirl pattern. The watermelon hat has the cuff turned up by hand. The pink hat has the cuff built in. Those of you who use knitting looms know how that works--you bring the bottom up and around the pegs and then loop over that row.

In between projects, I like to make different types of flowers. I scour the internet for unusual flowers that work well with worsted weight yarn so that I can use up the little pieces left over from projects. The yellow one at the top right and the pink one at the bottom left caught me eye last week. I could only find the directions in Russian. Luckily, my MIL taught me how to analyze stitches. After much trial and error, I came up with a flower pretty close to the original. When I finished the pink hat above, you'd think that one of the flowers would work with the colors. Of course not. I ended up making a simple rose with the same pink yarn used in the cuff.

Directions for a no calorie chocolate candy

Materials

• small amount of fiberfill
• small piece of satin in chocolate colors--dark brown, medium brown, or cream
• glossy fabric paint in chocolate colors (I use Scribbles)
• needle and thread
• paper candy cups (from cake decorating section of a crafts store)

Directions

1. Make an oval pattern, approx 4" by 3 ¼". 
2. Cut an oval from the satin fabric.
3. Fold edge of fabric ¼" to keep fabric from fraying. Hold folded edges in place with fingers while sewing. With thread and needle, sew a running stitch around the folded edge oval fabric. Gather slightly and stuff with fiberfill. Finish gathering, stuff more if necessary, and anchor stitch and end off.
4. Decorate the candy with fabric paint (see picture).
   I like to run a squiggly line across the candy. Check out chocolates at your favorite candy store for ideas.
5. Let dry.
6. Use candy cups as-is or spray them inside and out with gold paint.
7. Glue finished candies to inside of candy cups.

Chocolates and watermelon

I entered a county fair for the first time and won a first place for the baby owl hat (see the picture in a previous post. My Christmas chocolate ornament came in second in another category. The chocolates came out nicely, but the heart that I covered with crushed velvet wasn't right. I'll remember for next year. I'll post directions for making one of the chocolates next. I've been designing them for the last 10 years and always find something new to add to the list of chocolates. These were originally for use for my chocolate pincushion idea (as seen on Carol Duvall). Now I use them for whatever crazy idea comes to mind.

My granddaughter had her tonsils taken out a few weeks ago. I promised her some ice cream, so I bought her a gift card for Coldstone. It needed a "holder." I've been wanting to crochet watermelon purses for a while, so I looked around to see what other people were doing and combined the features that I liked. There are some good patterns out there. I had to figure out how to make the opening at the flat part of the slice, so I went through several versions. My granddaughter loves her little purse, just the right size to put whatever miniature toy she is collecting this summer.

Family piñatas

My parents started making piñatas back in the 1950s. My dad would build the form and my mom would decorate. I'm tracking down pictures of the piñatas to save them for the family. The picture that I will probably never find is the Viking ship. I've been trying to talk my dad into constructing another one, but he looks at me like I'm crazy. Of course I am.

I started making piñatas in junior high, even though we (me, my brother, and my sister) were slave labor many years before that.

Here is a picture of a sun piñata I made for a company picnic. It's a mixed media construction with painted styrofoam and floral spray to give the sun more dimension. The body was built using the papier maché method around the biggest bowl (or was it a ball?) I could find.

The other is a princess piñata for my granddaughter's birthday. With this one I experimented with colored foil, netting gathered to look like tutus, and princess foamie cutouts. I also attached curled ribbon instead of the traditional streamers to the points. This piñata is made using a dry construction with cardboard and tape to form the body.

The treasure chest is also mixed media. It was both dry construction and papier maché. In addition, I used faux leather to make the straps and a fish net that I found at the dollar store. The girls didn't want to break this one because of all the jewels and gold coins inside.

Although I have made popular characters, you have to keep in mind how old the children are. It will take many years of therapy for a child to recover from everyone bashing in Elmo's head.

Next Boy's Hat

I made an aviator hat last month as part of my quest to make boy hats, but my best friend needed it for a baby gift. I didn't think about taking a picture of it before it left the house. So I finally made the second version. The hat looks good, but it's not very photogenic laying flat against the background. Luckily, I found this beautiful baby doll to model the hat. I'm hoping this one will fit my grandson who loves all things to do with planes. But if it doesn't, I can always make another.

Hats, Part 2

I finally finished my Baby Owl hat which came out the way I wanted. I used the Knifty Knitter to make the body of the hat and the rest was crocheted. Vanna's yarn in Grey Marble made a good "owl" color. The second hat started out as a sample hat to learn how to create swirls for my cupcake hat. I ended up loving the pattern and making more of them. I originally made a small pompom for the cherry. It was huge. I replaced it with a crocheted cherry with better proportions. I have one more hat to finish for a little boy. I made one already, but my comadre needed it for a baby gift. I'll post that one in my next blog.

Little Blooms Hats

I found a great pumpkin beanie pattern at FaveCrafts (http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-for-Baby/Baby-Pumpkin-Crochet-Beanie/ml/1). The hat is darling, but the pattern is also very versatile. I've been making all kinds of hats with it. I've named the latest batch Little Bloom hats. Start with any shade of soft, worsted weight yarn in light green. Follow the directions for creating the hat. Then add a large crocheted flower to the top. You may have to tack some of the petals down so the flower spreads out correctly. Add a simple scalloped edge to the bottom of the hat. You can also add a small flower to the cuff.

Here is what I've done since Friday.

Now for the real challenge, trying to come up with boy versions that aren't just plain. More as that develops.

For those of you within driving distance of Oceanside, CA, here is the URL for signing up for the Crafting for Life workshop on March 17, 2012:
http://crafting-for-life.blogspot.com/

Getting My Blankets Ready

I promised Dee Steeves that I would start a crafts blog. I finally did it!

The Crafting for Life workshop is coming up on March 17 in Oceanside, and I'm going to teach people to make my fleece blankets with crocheted edgings. The workshop will benefit the Pregnancy Resource Center.  I've gotten several pieces of fleece together and tomorrow I'll work on my favorite part--matching yarn to the fabric.

Here is a simple edging for a boy's blanket.

This is one of my favorites--ice cream cones. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the ice cream fabric that inspired it again.

This is the blanket I entered in the Joann's contest last year. I didn't win, but I still like my blanket.

While on the Coaster, I'm going to be working on a few baby hats to bring to the workshop. I have a pattern that I found last year for a pumpkin hat. It turned out to be very versatile. I've adapted it to make a strawberry and some flowers. Today, I made a daisy hat which came out pretty well. I'll post that picture next time.