Chandelier necklace

Since we are leaving Thailand soon, I didn't want to start on a big project. But I didn't want to just not make anything either. So, when I found B.Hooked Crochet's April CAL I knew it was just the thing for me.

Brittany made a lengthy tutorial on how to crochet a necklace, that has a very complicated looking chart. I didn't have to watch the video, because luckily I'm comfortable with charts, but if you are a beginner crocheter I can only recommend you try your hands in this one. Not only will you have a beautiful necklace as a result, but you will find out that not everything is as complicated as it might seem at first glance.

You can find the FREE tutorial and chart here.

Baby dresses

Last month I made two little outfits for the tiny princess in your life. Both patterns are Rebecca Leigh's elegant designs. I had loads of fun figuring out the details and the kind of personality I wanted to give each of the them.

The avocado green dress has a white and yellow butterfly on its bodice crocheted with pearl cotton crochet thread. While the one with the rose skirt has a cute pink hedgehog on its bodice. They both have ribbons that compliment the colors of the skirts.

They are very special to me, because these two dresses are the first items to debut my Etsy shop: Sunny Edge.

Square fest

Here are a few afghan squares I made over the past couple of months. The first three are part of Moogly's 2014 crochet along. Which is awesome, because hundreds of people are participating. There's even a group for it on Ravelry. At the end of the year all of us will have an afghan that is similar to the others', and, at the same time, totally different. The base of the fourth square was made following a pattern, like the rest. However, the bear on it is my own design. I call it Mr. Patchworkson square.

Toys from February

Despite it being the shortest month, during those 28 days I finished quite a few stuffed cuties. First of which is a teeny tiny messenger owl. His mission is to carry short messages between me and the hubby. This little guy was the gift I gave to my sweet-sweet Valentine. It is also an original Freshstitches cutie. You can find the pattern here.

The second sweetheart is a rainbow giraffe, who's a real eye-catcher. His FREE pattern can be found here.

Now, the third one is special. Her name is Maya and she is a gigantic pink monkey. She is the biggest toy I made so far. The pattern was designed by Irene Staal, you can find it on her Ravelry page.

And last, but not least comes the grooviest cat in town. He has dots, he has stripes (on his back, not visible on the picture), he has everything. You can find the FREE pattern here.

Crochet symbols chart

There are many different ways to write down a pattern, some use charts, while others write down all the directions. Choose the latter, and you still have two options. You can use either the US or the UK terms, or sometimes both. If you are like me, and only are comfortable using one set of the terms, you might find scratching your head when faced with the other.

If they were two completely different set of terms it would be a piece of cake. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I self-taught myself to crochet via various Youtube videos, I could find on the subject, and almost all of them used the US terms. Which, if I'm completely honest, to me personally make more sense than the UK terms. But I could get just easily used to the other ones, if not for the fact that they use pretty much the same terms, only for different stitches.

A US single crochet is a UK double crochet, while the single crochet in UK terms is a slip stitch in the US version. I could go on, but you get the idea. Now, this doesn't seem too complicated at first, and it isn't with simple patterns. But imagine making a difficult afghan square. Sometimes it's hard to follow the pattern even if you are on top of your game terms-wise. If you, however aren't even sure about what you are reading, you might get a headache just figuring that out.

That's why using symbols sounds easier, at least they are always the same. Of course not everything can be written in charts, like amigurumis for instance. Also, they can scare away the inexperienced souls.

As I was browsing the vast world wide web the other day, looking for something completely different, I stumbled upon a chart that made my life all the more easier. This chart, created by Jamie Ekins, contains all the terms and symbols one could wish for in one place. It's also colorful and fits only one side of a paper. Print it out and you'll never feel lost again.

You can find Jamie's original post and the .pdf version here.

Lollipop, the unicorn

Lollipop is the third member of the toy team I'm making for Alex's classmates. She is a cuddle-loving cutie. I followed the pattern for her body, but the tail and mane are my creations. It is very simple: I made a number of chains between 30 and 40 (didn't want the locks to be exactly the same length) and then did 3 sc in the first chain, then 2 sc in the second, and so on.

You can find the FREE pattern here.

Kiddie socks

These socks were a joy to make and I finished them in just a few hours. I used some leftover yarn from other projects, so the colors are not very fashionable. But the socks are warm and fit Alex's feet perfectly. Of course, the fact that he takes them off a minute after I put them on is a totally different story.

The FREE pattern can be found here. I used a 4 mm hook to be sure they are going to be big enough for my little monster's feet.

Teddy

Teddy here is the second member of the toy army I'm making as farewell presents for Alex's classmates. He is 30 cm tall sitting, and almost 45 cm tall from head to toe. Teddy is the ultimate huggable size friend.

You can find the FREE pattern here.

Ipod cozy

The hubby asked for an Ipod cozy for his birthday this year. Luckily I had just the yarn and button for the project. I'm happy to report that he liked it very much.

You can find the FREE pattern here.

Stretch, the giraffe

Stretch is my first official Freshstiches project, also the first pattern I actually paid for. Stacey's cuties are special to me, since I learned to crochet with the help of her free tutorial videos. Stretch is in one of her older publications, Crocheted softies, it is available for Kindle on Amazon. Stacey's most recent book is Modern Baby Crochet, which is a must-have for every crocheter mommy or mommy-to-be.

In June we are going back home to Serbia, and I want to give a farewell present for Alex's classmates on his last day of school. Stretch is the first member of the group.

I caught him sipping my coconut juice. But who can blame him? That stuff is delicious!

Butterfly mobile

As of January I'm participating in the Harry Potter House Cup on Ravelry. I was sorted in Hufflepuff after filling out a short quiz. The game is similar to the one in the books and movies. The four houses collect points and the one that collects the most is going to be the winner of the Cup. The participants receive points for knitted and crocheted goods and also for hand-dyeing or spinning yarn. The projects can be turned in as homework for classes.

I made this mobile for the Hufflepuff Baby Brigade. This team sends out gifts for future Hufflepuff mommies. The little witches and wizards get socks, diaper covers, hats and toys too.

I made the butterflies following the pattern, but the rest was pretty much my own work. You can find the FREE pattern here.

And here is the badge I got for making the mobile:

Snake puppet

I made the puppet for Alex to practice speaking. At first he loved it, but got bored with the whole learning thing pretty quickly. Now he's in the toy box waiting for Alex to rediscover the countless possibilities of a puppet.

You can find the FREE pattern here.

Kindle case

A proper case for my Kindle was long overdue. I never got around to buy one from Amazon, and since now I have the means to make a case myself, I did just that. It also provided a great opportunity to practice working with thread. I made a butterfly applique and a huge flower. I used the latter instead of an actual button. Now my Kindle is not only super cozy, but her new look is adorable.

You can find the FREE pattern here. The super cute flower's pattern can be seen here, also for FREE.

Bookmarks

Thais don't celebrate Christmas in their homes, but in school they do, as a way of learning of other cultures. So, I decided a gift was due for Alex's nurses. And since I had my hook and thread in my hands I made one for our Thai language teacher as well. This was my first thread project, and while it took some time to get used to the tiny hook, I'm happy with the result.

The pattern might seem a bit complicated at first, but after the second bookmark I knew it by heart and finished the rest quickly. You can find the FREE pattern on Ravelry.

Elephant hat

We celebrated this year's Christmas in Thailand in a very special way. We visited an elephant sanctuary near Chiang mai, Elephant Nature Park. They rescue these animals from people, who are unbelievably cruel to them. Most of the female elephants here had their legs or hips broken (in some cases both) as a result of too hard labor or enforced mating. Elephant Nature Park is a little piece of heaven for these creatures. They are practically free to roam the territory of the park and are also well fed. Many tourists go there to pet and feed them, there's even a volunteer option for those who want to help.

Walking among these magnificent animals is a one of a kind experience. There are a few simple rules to keep in mind, but the staff is extra careful too. Even small children are allowed. Our toddler son was in awe to see the elephants up close. He even touched one, although their skin is rough, so he did that only once. His favorite part was the bathing.

The park is on a mountain near Chiang mai city, and the weekend we visited was quite chilly, so Alex needed a hat. I didn't want to buy any, since I could make one to fit the event. And thus was this cute little hat made. The elephant applique is not part of the original pattern, but you can find it on Ravelry. And the hat's FREE pattern can be downloaded from Ravelry (although you'll have to do a quick sign up, if you're not a user yet).