Crochet Toadstool Mushrooms

I am working on my first ever crochet tutorial! My dear friend Rossana from SimplyRossana (Etsy Shop) opened her shop on November first and encouraged me to add some of my own creations.

 

I will let you know as soon as it's available!

 

 



Crochet amigurumi mushrooms

Crochet holder and Anime Girl Illustration

Crochet Coaster

Crochet baskets

Happy Mother’s Day

I wrote this last week......Today is Mother’s Day and I am remembering my mom… more than always, not only how sweet and patient she was with all four of us, but also everything she thought us…her kindness and endless LOVE

One of the very first songs we learned as kids was “Los pollitos dicen Pio Pio Pio” - the chicks say pio, pio, pio-

My dear friend Rossana inspired me to crochet these cute and playful chicks – ( or pollitos in Spanish)

Hope they bring you very nice memories of your mom….

Here is a video with  the lyrics in case you want to sing it along with me: Youtube video

Jar Obsession

Have a told you about my jar obsession? well, I like to think that I am a conscious individual that likes to re-use stuff, specially  glass jars…

They seem to be just the right size and shape to hold my crochet creations, don’t you think?

 I have decorated a couple by crocheting a simple yet colorful wrap around them and adding some flowers, they are wonderful to hold bathroom necessities (cotton balls, Q-tips, hair bands, etc. etc.) and of course they are perfect to hold my crochet hooks!

All my crochet hooks fit in this jar plus I can enjoy my brother's Matryoshka, Paola Gavo's Guadalupe Virgin pencil decoration, and my son's tinfoil rose!

 

Hama beads update

Pao and I continue our journey with hama beads! They are so versatile! I cannot have enough!!
These are our latest projects:

Dolls (matryoshka and Kokeshi)

 

Peru inspired coasters

 

 

Crochet Round Scarf and Shawl



Last year I found this easy to follow video on how to make this simple but beautiful round scarf.

Youtube video

 I made it with 2 skeins of purple Vana’s Choice yarn and I have enjoyed wearing it year around! My office is super cold so I don’t have to wait till winter to wear my cozy scarf. At the time, I realized I would have preferred for the diameter to be smaller so that it would rest comfortable on my shoulders and cover me without sliding downs my arms. I wanted more a shawl than a scarf.

Number of chains: 162

Number of rows: 21

Soooo, I gave it a second try and made this smaller diameter version using  Bernat Sheep (ish) Vickie Howell - Coral(ish) - and I LOVE IT !!!! exactly the same process I just used less chains at the beginning. This is what I did, I made  80 chains and, without creating the circle yet, I measured the diameter over my shoulders and continue making chains till I was satisfied with the size of my chain. Then, continued following the video instructions.

Number of chains 113

Number of rows 29

My dear friend Carla gave me this awesome yarn from Peru and I couldn’t resist and made shawled ## !!! I love the ombre effect of the yarn…don’t you??

And the fact that the yarn it from my dear Peru made it extra special!! Thank you Carlita for this wonderful gift !!! I am making a cushion for my sofa with the other skein…will show you soon!!!



Crochet Bolero for Pao with pattern

I started this project during the Christmas break and it wasn't till yesterday that I finished it!! why is it so hard to complete a project? we begin with so much enthusiasm and somewhere in between we run out of energy. Well, not a PHD (project half done) anymore, it is done!!

I used Lion Brand "Amazing" yarn one sale at $.99, cannot beat that price!! Used 3 different colors Vineyard, Rainforest, and Wildflowers, somehow they make a pretty interesting combination.

You can find the pattern and great video with instructions here-> video with pattern
Hope you like it!

 

 



 



 

 

 
 

Ash Wednesday and Easter eggs pattern

Today is Ash Wednesday and couldn’t think of a better project than some Easter eggs as a reminder of the most important celebration of our faith: the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and a the hope of new beginning for us.

The eggs are crocheted in the round (Amigurumi style). I changed yarn color every 3 rows, since you have 15 rows total, it gives you a nice 5 color egg J. However, you could choose to use less colors or even do it all in one color,  like these:

I used cotton yarn for the larger eggs, and multicolor  cotton for the little one.

Here is the pattern:

R1 5 sc in Magic ring (5 sts)

R2 2 sc in every stitch (10 stitches)
R3 1 sc 1 inc all around (15 stitches)
R4 2 sc 1 inc all around (20 stitches)
R5 3 sc 1 inc all around (25 stitches)
R6 – R11 1 sc in every stitch (25 stitches)
R12 3 sc 1 dec all around (20 stitches)
R13 2 sc 1 dec all around (15 stitches)
R14 1 sc 1 dec all around (10 stitches)
R15 1 dec all around (5 stitches)

Crochet Cupcakes with pattern

Last year when I completed my ice cream cones  I wanted to crochet cupcakes! It was just “natural” to continue the sweetness madness..jajajaja. I made one, but wasn’t very happy with the results, there it sat forgotten and sad under other PHDs (projects half done) for far too long. My comadre (I don’t know the translation for comadre, Pao’s God-mother) Rossy has this neat idea to host a bazar in November to share and sell our creations, when I showed her my failed cupcake she liked it!! (by the way, Rossy bakes the MOST delicious cupcakes ever!!!).

Renewed with her support and positive vibes I gave it another try…I searched and searched for patterns, tested a couple and landed on LanasYOvillos  

(Same website as the ice cream cones. A coincidence? I don’t think so, their patterns are awesome!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pattern is super easy to follow, she even posted a video!!! I added an extra row to the bottom piece, and that was my only change. Enjoy!!!

I wrote the pattern in English for you:

Cupcake Bottom

R1 6 sc in Magic ring (6 sts)

R2 2 sc in every stitch (12 stitches)

R3 1 sc 1 inc all around (18 stitches)

R4 2 sc 1 inc all around (24 stitches)

R5 in the back loop only, 1 sc in every stitch (24 stitches)

R6 & R7  1 sc in every stitch (24 stiches)

R8 3 sc 1 inc all around (30 stitches)

R9 & R10 1 sc in every stitch (30 stitches)

R11 (I added this extra row) 1 sc in very stitch (30 stitches).

Cupcake top:

R1 6 sc in Magic ring (6 sts)

R2 2 sc in every stitch (12 stitches)
R3 1 sc 1 inc all around (18 stitches)
R4 2 sc 1 inc all around (24 stitches)
R5 1 sc in every stitch (24 stitches)
R6 3 sc 1 inc all around (30 stitches)
R7 - R10 1 sc in every stitch (30 stitches)
R11 scallop-> 4 sc in the same stitch, slip stitch in the next stitch –all around

Treasures and Crochet Strawberries with Pattern

Every year on Super bowl weekend, Pao’s school hosts their annual Festival, they have fun rides and delicious food for the whole family, and a very nice charity bazar. I really enjoy going through the tables nicely labeled and organized to find “treasures”…you know the saying , one man’s garbage is another  man’s treasure? well, it’s true J  

Look at my treasures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matryoshka doll (Russian dolls, left), Kokeshi doll (Japanese doll, center), Enamel doll (do you see a patter going on here?..jajaja), and Strawberry necklace….

I had crochet strawberries in my ever growing “To Do” list for a very long time, well no more in the To Do!!! They are in the DONE pile..yey!!

They are so colorful and cheerful they make me happy just by looking at them. They are quick to make and enjoy!  I tested a couple of patterns till I came up with my own (posted below). It’s a simple amigurumi style project, you start with a magic circle and then you crochet in the round. For the leaves I also tested more than one pattern, this was my favorite  lanasyovillos.

Materials: DMC embroidery floss in red, pink, green, and very light yellow for the seeds.

Crochet 2.5 mm
Needle for the seeds, and filler (I used yarn trimmings from previous projects)

Strawberry pattern:

R1 5 sc in Magic ring (5 sts)

R2 2 sc in every stitch (10 stitches)

R3 1 sc in  every stitch (10 stitches)

R4 1sc 1 inc all around (15 stitches)

R5 1sc in every stitch (15 stitches)

R6 2 sc 1 inc all around (20 stitches)

R7 1sc in every stitch (20 stitches)

R8 3 sc 1 inc all around (25 stitches)

R9 1 sc in every stitch (25 stitches)

R10 & 11 1 sc in every stitch (25 stitches)

R12 3 sc 1 dec all around (20 stitches)

R13 2 sc 1 dec all around (15 stitches)

R14 1 sc in every stitch ( 15 stitches)

R15 1 sc 1 dec all around (10 stitches)

Pao's 10 Birthday and Potholders

Dear God, thanks for another year! a new beginning, a blank slate to start again with renewed energies! For the past 10 years we have had the privilege to start the year with a bang, Pao's birthday is on the third and it gives us an extra bust to start the year happy and joyful and above everything, blessed to have her in our lives. She is such a source of happiness and joy! I am so glad to have followed my mom's advise and decided to have a second child...thanks mom, you were right once again!!

For Christmas her best friend Emily gave her a pot holder loom kit, we were so excited to try a new craft!! The very next day we started looming away...the technique is very simple once you get it. The box did not bring many instructions but YouTube came to the rescue, isn't it amazing  everything you can find in YouTube? 

We were happily looping and weaving pot holders and came to the realization that we needed to find another source for the loops. The kit brought enough looms to make 4 pot holders, but we wanted more!!! Could we use yarn instead? But of course!! This YouTube video does a nice job explaining how to use yarn in the weaving loom.

The results are  different and we like them both, you can see from the pictures the difference in size and texture. With the “real” looms you get a stretchy square, thicker and probably better for grabbing a hot pot. With the yarn the results are nice too, the square is larger and thinner with a medium consistency. I wanted to put roses on them!!..jajajaja…

These are the real looms:

These are the pot holders made with cotton yarn

 

 In this picture you can see the difference in size: