Graphic Granny Afghan

This week I'm finishing up my works-in-progress. First off is this Graphic Granny Afghan that I started in February. After making the 95 motifs I set it aside because sewing them all together is such a big chore. But now I have finished it! I am absolutely in love with the striking design and colors. You can download the free pattern from Coats and Clark's "Graphic Granny Afghan." I added two extra columns and rows to make it a little bit bigger.

My Pal Patches

 

Look at this cute little farmer boy! He is so adorable with his little hands in the pockets of his overalls. I made this little guy for my cousin Jennifer's new baby boy. The pattern can be found in Crochet World issue June 2010 "My Pal Patches."

Etsy Shop Now Open with Cross-Stitch Patterns!

•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•http://www.etsy.com/shop/elfstitch•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•

Today I have opened my Etsy store! I have made some cross-stitch patterns of Doctor Who characters and quotes. I started out with a little TARDIS and have also made K-9, the Tenth Doctor, and my favorite: the Daleks. If you're a total geek like me then you should definitely check these out.

You can find the pdf patterns for this awesome-ness on sale at my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/elfstitch

Square Critters for New Baby Girl

I finished these soft, sweet critters about a month ago, but was unable to post it since they were a gift. I crocheted this set of square-ish animals for my brother's new baby girl and presented them to his wife at her baby shower last weekend. The patterns for these very cuddly critters are all available on Lion Brand: Amigurumi Cat, Little Lamb, Amigurumi Lion, Amigurumi Bear.

Crochet Cactus Garden ~ Free Pattern

There are a few cute cactus patterns out there. I found Nadia's "How to Crochet a Cactus" on Flickr and became inspired to make a few cacti. I even went so far as to make a pattern for these four cacti! They are really quick and easy to make and stand about 6-8 inches tall. Share your pictures with me if you make one!



Materials:
Worsted weighted yarn in Green, Clay, Brown, Cream, and Pink
Crochet Hook G (4.00mm)
Stitch marker
Yarn Needle
Polyester Fiberfill
Finished size approx. 6-8 inches tall

Abbreviations:
ch = Chain
hdc = Half Double Crochet
FLO = Front Loops Only
sc = Single Crochet
sl = Slip Stitch
BLO = Back Loops Only
dec = Single Crochet 2 Stitches Together

Cactus #1 Body:
With Green ch 26, turn
1) Sc in 2nd chain from hook in BLO. Sc in BLO across, ch1, turn [25]
2-27) Sc across in BLO, ch1, turn [25]
28) Bring row 1 up matching row 27 to form a tube. Sc across in BLO of row 27 and in empty loops of chains from row 1. [25]
Finish off. Sew a long piece of yarn through the loops of the top opening of the cactus and pull to gather closed.
Join Brown with sc on any row on open end of cactus. Sc across the bottom of the cactus. Finish off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff.


Cactus #1 Arm:
With Green ch 12, turn
1) Sc in 2nd chain from hook in BLO. Sc in BLO across, ch1, turn [11]
2-17) Sc across in BLO, ch1, turn [11]
18) Bring row 1 up matching row 17 to form a tube. Sc across in BLO of row 17 and in empty loops of chains from row 1. [11]
Finish off and leave a long tail. Sew the tail through loops along the top opening and pull to gather closed. Stuff and sew Arm to side of Main cactus wherever you want or use the picture for reference.

Cactus #2 Body:
With Green ch 16, turn
1) sc in 2nd chain from hook in BLO, hdc in BLO in next 13 stitches, sc in BLO in last stitch, ch1, turn [15]
2-30) sc in BLO in first stitch, hdc in BLO in next 13 stitches, sc in BLO in last stitch, ch1, turn [15]
31) Bring row 1 up matching row 30 to form a tube. Sc, 13 hdc, and sc across in BLO of row 30 and in empty loops of chains from row 1. [15]
Finish off. Sew a long piece of yarn through the loops of the top opening of the cactus and pull to gather closed.
Join Brown with sc on any row on open end of cactus. Sc across the bottom of the cactus. Finish off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff.

 Cactus #3 Body:
With Green ch 21, turn
1) hdc in 2nd chain from hook in BLO. Hdc in next 12 stitches in BLO, sc in next 7 stitches in BLO, ch1, turn [20]
2) sc in next 7 stitches in BLO, hdc in next 13 stitches in BLO, ch1, turn [20]
3) hdc in next 13 stitches BLO, sc in next 7 stitches BLO, ch1, turn [20]
4-27) Repeat rows 2 and 3 [20]
28) Bring row 1 up matching row 27 to form a tube. 13 hdc then 7 sc across in BLO of row 27 and in empty loops of chains from row 1. [20]
Finish off. Sew a long piece of yarn through the loops of the top opening of the cactus (the hdc side) and pull to gather closed.
Join Brown with sc on any row on open end of cactus. Sc across the bottom of the cactus. Finish off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff.

Cactus #4 Body: (make 2)
With Green ch 21, turn
1) sc in 2nd chain from hook in BLO, sc in BLO across, ch1, turn [20]
2-17) sc in BLO across [20]
18) Bring row 1 up matching row 17 to form a tube. Sc across in BLO of row 17 and in empty loops of chains from row 1. [20]
Finish off and leave a long tail. Sew the tail through loops along the top opening and pull to gather closed. Hold both Bodies together with the bottoms facing you. Sew the two pieces together on the bottom where they touch.
Join Brown with sc on any row on open end of either cactus. Sc across the bottom of the joined cacti. Finish off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff.

Cactus Pot:
Use this pot for all Cactus styles with the variation of dirt indicated as below. Pot is worked in rounds, do not join or turn at the end of rounds. Use a stitch marker to keep track of rounds.
With Clay make a ring
1) 8 sc in ring [8]
2) *2sc in same stitch* around [16]
3) *sc, 2sc in same stitch* around [24]
4) *sc 2, 2sc in same stitch* around [32]

5) *sc 3, 2sc in same stitch* around [40]
6) sc around in BLO [40]
7-14) sc around [40]
15) sc around in FLO [40]
16) sc around [40]
Finish off. Leave a long tail. Turn down the last 2 rows of the pot to make the outside rim. Use the long tail to sew the rim down to the pot.
Join Brown with sc to any free loop of Round 15.
For all Cacti, sc around the free loops of Round 15 [40].
For Cacti 1 & 4 continue to make a second round of dirt by *sc 2, dec* around. [30]
Finish off and stuff. Using the long tail of the dirt round from the Cactus Body, sew the dirt round of the Body to the last dirt round of the Pot. Finish off and weave in all ends.

Flowers:
These flowers can be adjusted to make the number and length of petals you desire.
Make 1 for Cacti 2 & 3; make 2 for Cacti 1 & 4.
With Cream make a ring; 8 sc in ring, finish off. [8]
With Pink join with sl in any sc. *Ch 6, sl in same stitch, sl in next stitch* around, finish off. [8 petals]
Sew flower to the top of the Cactus Body or arm.

Yummy Banana Split

Anyone have a spoon? I'm ready to eat this very tasty banana split. It's got vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream topped with pineapple, chocolate, and cherry syrup and whipped cream! You can find this amazing pattern at The Craft Frog "Banana Split." I altered a few things on my split. First for the whipped cream I ran the beginning tail around the stitches at the top to gather the cream and I very lightly stuffed the cream so it would hold it's shape. Second I made the syrup all one piece. You can find the instructions in the first comment. Third I'm not a fan of hot-gluing my ami's together, so I stitched it all to make it one piece. ~♥

Sweet and Bouncy Toadette

Beautiful, sweet Toadette is another character from the Mario Brothers series. I think she turned out absolutely adorable! By far one of my favorite amigurumis. You can find this and other wonderful Mario Bros patterns at Wolfdreamer "Toad and Toadette."