easter has snuck up on me with the stealth of a ninja and i figured i should get out a few decorations, but when i went through what i already had, i thought 'meh, i'm not really into so much pastel anymore'. so what to do, what to do...
well, i had to go to hobby lobby for a few things for my son's school project and thought i would take a look to see what they had in their easter aisles. i came across ceramic eggs in a cream color and immediately thought 'i will grannify you eggs!' [yeah, i doubt grannify is a real word too]. i walked out with as eight eggs, paper grass and pipe cleaner chicks and ended up with these:
i made the up the granny eggs as i went and am excited to share the process with you guys. i know easter is less than one week away but these hook up really fast! you could even do this over plastic eggs you have laying around the house...
Supplies [chick not required]:
*i used creme de la creme yarn and an 'F' hook OR cotton crochet thread and a 'D' hook, but this can vary depending on the size of your egg
Stitches [US terms]:
magic ring= great tutorial here [use through step 3]
sl st = slip stitch
sp = space
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
granny stitch = 3dc, ch1 [i doubt this stitch is in any book, it's just what i call it :) ]
granny increase = ch3, 1dc in same space, ch1, 2dc in same space, ch1
Pattern:
Round 1: in magic ring, ch3, 2dc, ch1, 4 granny stitches, sl st in top of ch3; before pulling yarn end tight to close the hole, feed it through hole to the right side
Round 2: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, granny increase, *granny stitch in next ch1 sp* four times, sl st in top of ch3
Round 3: sl st in next dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 2dc in same sp, ch1, *granny in next ch1 sp* five times, sl st in top of ch3
Round 4: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 2dc in same sp, ch1, *granny in next ch1 sp* five times, sl st in top of ch3
Round 5: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 2dc in same sp, *3dc in next ch1 sp* five times, insert egg into cup you've created, sl st in top of ch3; from this point you are working in the round with the egg inserted
Round 6: repeat Round 5, minus the egg insertion
Round 7: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 1dc in same sp, ch1, *2dc, ch1 in next ch1 sp* five times, sl st in top of ch3
Round 8: sl st in next dc and ch1 space, ch1, sc in same space, sc in next ch1 sp 5 times pulling yarn tight around the small end of the egg, sl st in first sc of round; fasten off; weave in ends
the pattern as written above is for the thicker yarn and bigger hook [fuschia and yellow eggs in picture above]. the white, red and pink eggs made with the crochet thread required an extra granny increase row in the beginning and an extra row of 3dc w/o ch1 in between [like Round 5 above]. the pattern is truly customizable to your egg, yarn and personal preferences.
another feature you could add would be a chain loop to hang your egg with, like this one:
please let me know if you have any questions or find any errors... enjoy!
i just love the color orange, don't you? i recently purchased this canister set at a flea market here in town...
my original intention was to buy them to sell in my Etsy shop, but once they made their way into my kitchen, i could not part with their orange-y goodness!
i'm guessing there is one size missing from the set that would fit in between the largest and the next smallest, but i really don't care :)
and the canisters served as a bit of inspiration for helping me decide my color choices for a little spontaneous crochet/recycling project.
the can held peanuts and is much like a crescent roll package - paper on the outside, metallic inside and metal bottom. so, i carefully washed out the inside of the can and hooked up a cozy for it. and here is the final result...
it's pretty tall which makes it perfect for holding longer items and looks nice sitting next to the canisters.
what spontaneous projects have you finished lately?
i haven't been feeling up to snuff in the last four days. i twisted my back- not sure how but woke up with it all knotted up on Sunday morning. then on Monday, i started feeling flu-ish in the afternoon. needless to say, i've spent the last two and a half days with an electric hot pad on my back and a cool wash cloth on my forehead. awful!
i'm hoping to get back on my feet and back to work tomorrow- just in time to have Friday off for a three day weekend and do the things that didn't get done this past weekend. i haven't been out of the house yet this week and would really like to have a chance to wear these fingerless gloves i made...
i was going to just do the simple quick rectangle sewn up the side leaving a hole for my thumb but then i thought 'why not try stripes?'. which the led to small scallops on the top and larger scallops on the cuff.
and when they were finished, i read my husband's mind which was saying 'oh god, another gray/black item in her wardrobe- imagine that' and i knew i needed to add a little pop of color to throw him off track.
i'm thinking that the next pair i make i will sew on a small round button and then make flowers in various colors and interchangeable. i'm also contemplating making this my first ever tutorial...would you be interested?
Mara Skujeniece is a ceramic genius!
She used these spools for inspiration
to make these molds
to create these beautiful vases
and i cannot tell you how badly i want this!
you can find the entire 'spools' collection and many other wonderful creations [the hyperbowls are fantastic too!] at skujeniece... [website found via Aesthetic Outburst]
I just received these beautiful merino wool yarns from Shivaya Naturals.
Shivaya Naturals is a shop owned by Heather, who organized the fabulous vintage swap I participated in a couple of months back, and all of her profits are donated to charity. She also has a wonderful blog full of recipes, creativity and community.
The colors are Black Cherry and Sunshine... aren't these hand-dyed yarns gorgeous? They feel wonderful too! Now I need to find just the right projects to use them... they seem more suited to something knitted, which means I will need to re-teach myself the use of the two pointed needles. Suggestions for projects, anyone?
