Monday 10 May 2010

Hand Made Hook, yay!

Hello friends,


Check out what I’ve been up to. I made my own crochet hook!

Recently one of my lovely Brittany hooks snapped in my bag, sad times :(

I spent ages looking for a replacement and I have always been interested in making my own hooks and when I found a scabby old stick outside my house I thought it must be a sign. I found a few tutorials online from Craftster and eHow and thought I would give it a go. I started with scraping off all of the yucky bits like bark and bumps with a Stanley knife and shaped the tip into a rough point. I then drew with a pencil where I wanted to hook part to be cut and started working the shape with the Stanley knife. I used a nail file to make the groove deeper and then went to town with the sand paper and did a lot of the shaping of the tip with that.

 After going through 3 different grades of sand paper I then rubbed the hook with a candle to give it a nice shiny finish and used the heat from my hands to smooth it into the wood.

Then I tried it out and this is what I made for my friend Sam


I hope you like my new hook, I'm hoping to make more, I think a small saw and a sharper knife will help lots.

Sunday 2 May 2010

Meredith the Monster

This is Meredith. I’ve had the pattern done for a while now but hadn’t gotten round to taking the pictures and writing everything up. I love him but my friend Alun loves him more, (he took him out the pub with him)Meredith is a shy monster but very cuddly and cute in a weird way.

So here is the patter for you:




You will need:
Your DK or WW colour of choice
Fibre fill
10mm safety eyes
White felt
Small amount of black for mouth
Small amount of fluffy yarn for tail

Head and Body
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: Inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc in first 2, inc in next, rep around (24sc)
R5: sc in first 3, inc in next, rep around (30sc)
R6: sc in first 4, inc in next, rep around (36sc)
R7: sc in first 5, inc in next, sc in next 12, inc, *sc in next 5, inc, rep from * to end (42sc)
R8: sc in first 6, inc in next, sc in next 13, inc, *sc in next 6, inc, rep from * to end (47sc)
R9: sc in first 7, 3sc in next st, sc in next 14, 3sc in next st, *sc in next 7, inc, rep form * to end (54sc)
R10: sc in first 8, inc in next, sc in next 17, *inc, sc in next 8, rep from * to end (59sc)
R11: sc in first 9, inc in next, sc in next 18, *inc, sc in next 9, rep from * to end (64sc)
R12-25 sc around
R26: sc in first 8, dec in next, rep around (58sc)
R27: sc around
R28: rep round 26, (53sc)
R29-30: sc around (add eyes and mouth)
R31: sc in first 6, dec in next, rep around (47sc)
R32: sc around
R33: sc in first 7, *dec, sc in next 2* rep from *4 times, dec, sc to end (42sc)
R34: rep R33 (37sc)
R35: sc in first 7, dec 5 times, sc to end (32sc)
R36-40 sc around
R41: sc 10, inc, sc 3, inc sc to end (34sc)
R42-45: sc around
R46: mark st at front in middle to place belly button, sc to marker, 4dc tog, sc to end
R47-48: sc around
R49: sc in next 3, dec, rep around (28sc)
R50: sc around
R51: sc in next 2, dec, rep around (21sc)
R52: sc in first st, dec in next, rep around (13sc)
R53: dec until closed


Arms (make 2)
R1: 4sc in ring
R2: inc around (8sc)
R3 sc around
R4: sc, dec, sc in next 2 dec, sc (6sc)
R5-7 sc around, FO leave tail to sew


Tail
Fluffy wool
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc around (12sc)
R3-4: sc around
R5: dec in every st around (6sc)
R6: sc around
Change to green
R7-30 sc around
R31: inc once, sc around (7sc)
R32: sc around
R33: inc once this round, sc around (8sc)
R34: sc around FO leave tail to sew


Legs (make 2)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc in next 2, inc in next, rep around (24sc)
R5-12 sc around, FO leave tail to sew


Enjoy