TheCrochetedButterfly

It’s Been a Long Time

It has really been a long time! As a matter of fact, it’s been over seven months since I posted. Wow, how time flies! No, I didn’t fall off the edge of the earth; I am still living with and taking care of my mom. I did have a terrible case of “lost cro-jo”, though, and this is why you haven’t heard from me. If you recall from some previous posts, I was in the process of creating stuffed animals…

I certainly hope this post finds you and yours healthy and not going too stir crazy from stay-at-home orders. At the time I’m writing this, a few states are lifting the orders, which makes some people very happy and some people very apprehensive. I just wish the best for everyone, no matter what your personal decision may be.

Things have just been going along here. I’m appreciating the warmer…

Yes, I said I was going to post once a month. I also realize I blew it for March. However, on March 15th (beware, right?) my mother and I both came down with the coronavirus. We haven’t been tested, so I can’t be absolutely positive, but I’m pretty sure. Luckily it was fairly mild for both of us, although my mom still needs a little more recoup time. My heart goes out to all of you who have had…

Just a Little Late

I said I was going to post right after Christmas to show you what ornaments I made for my family. Well, it IS after Christmas…almost Valentine’s Day…but let’s not get picky. The fact is that I have been pretty busy with things to do, not only for myself, but for my mom too. Plus I’ve started a really neat dragon (one of the six presents for my sister’s grandchildren) that’s been giving me fits! I…

This year I crocheted a little something for my family, but I can’t show you what I made because I do have a couple family members that read these posts and that would give away the surprise. It will just have to wait until after Christmas – but that doesn’t mean I don’t have something to show you. I found this adorable elf, and being in the spirit, I decided to give her a go. The “Free Pattern: Small Christmas Elf” from Kristi Tullus is so cute, but I saw a couple photos of what other people created and decided to give her a little more finished look with white edging on her hat, dress and shoes. I also put pipe cleaners in her arms and legs so they could bend a little.

I’ve said I’m making stuffed animals for all my mother’s great grandchildren, and two of the six have been completed. And now – just in time for the holidays – Ta Da! – the Ballerina Bunny for Emily. Emily is the newest addition to our family, being born just last June, so she won’t be getting to play with this bunny for quite a while. I’m sure when her parents feel she’s ready, the bunny will be given a  warm welcome.

I bought the pattern for “Bunny Lilu” from Tanya Kostochenkova of Crochet Friends Lab on Etsy. I lucked out because she was having a half price sale; at this writing she has a 25% off sale going. For the most part the pattern was well written, and I was able to figure out the couple of glitches without too much trouble.

Bunny Lilu from Crochet Friends Lab

My Ballerina Bunny turned out a little larger (16″ versus almost 12″) because I used DK weight yarn and  a D 3.25mm hook, but that was fine with me. I wasn’t a fan of the two little bows by the ears, so I used the “Crochet Hearts” hair bow from Katrina Payne at  Rebel Skein (don’t you love that name?). I did use joints for her legs, but if I make another I’ll follow what the designer had in mind. She created the joints by putting buttons on the outside of the “hips” and sewing through the body and both legs.

My version of “Bunny Lilu”

Well, this is my last post of 2019. I hope you all had a terrific year. I wish you a wonderful holiday season and an even better 2020! And of course, Happy Crocheting!

Presents for my CA Family

I like to make little crocheted Christmas presents for my family and friends in California, and even though I’m in Chicago now, I still want to keep up this “tradition”. I decided that this year would be snowflakes. How difficult to decide among the hundreds of patterns out there! But there was one that really caught my eye, and as soon as I saw it I knew this would be it.

Julia is the designer,…

I Took a Little Detour

After my last post I said that I was going to start the black cat. Well, that was kind of true. But first I decided to take a break and crochet the Cuddle Me Bear from Amigurumi Today. That bear stole my heart quite a while ago and I just couldn’t wait any longer. Plus, the designer has taken basically the same body and created quite a few more animals, each cuter than the next (of course!) and…

Finally – One Down!

I believe it was back in July that I decided to make amigurumis for my sister’s grandchildren. I began by asking them what their favorite animal was (and it didn’t have to be real – fantasy animals were fine). Even though I’ve done some amigurumi designing, I wasn’t even going to try to come up with the variety these kids gave me – a green-eyed black cat, an owl, a German shepherd, and two…

Still Hangin’ in There

It looks like since I’ve been in Chicago to take care of my mom that one post a month on my blog will probably be the best I’ll be able to do. {It has been determined that my mom needs someone to live with her, so I’ll be staying in Chicago.} All the “after hospital” visits are now over so things have quieted down considerably. Whew! I appreciate the quiet. Now my next venture is to really go…

At the beginning of this year I promised myself that I would post every week and become much more involved in social media to try to promote my store’s patterns and products. For a while I wasn’t doing too bad. But for those who have been paying attention, you know I totally fell off the wagon mid-April. Well, there was a very good reason for that.

On April 11th my mom fell and dislocated her hip…

Spring has always been one of my favorite seasons. There’s just something about the colorful flowers starting to peek out after a long cold winter. It’s actually rather rejuvenating! So to pay proper homage to the spring flowers, I’ve collected some of the prettiest crochet ones I could find to share with you.

One of my favorites – free pattern from Little Monkey’s Crochet

The elegance of a…

Well, I was definitely doing a bit of nail-biting on this baby shower present, but I  managed to get it done just in time. I sent it to my sister so she could bring it to the party. It went out in the mail last Wednesday and was received Friday – and the shower was yesterday! (Me doing my happy dance!)

Ta Da! The “Love & Kisses” Baby Blanket

I’ve worked on this Hearts ZigZag stitchbaby blanket…

If you’ve never checked out the ILOVE-CROCHETsite, please do yourself a favor and visit soon! This site literally has pages upon pages of free crochet patterns available. As their description states, “We share everyday (the) most popular free patterns and video tutorials from around the world.”  The site will show a few photos of the product on the pattern page and when you scroll down there will…

Since it is spring and Easter is around the corner, I thought I’d toot my own horn and let you know of a pattern that’s available in my store – my Grandpa Easter Bunny!

He’s all decked out in his Easter finery, and there’s even a free carrot pattern that can be ordered with him. He’s crocheted from about 100 yards of white sport-weight acrylic yarn (3.5mm hook), small amounts of size 10 cotton…

Crochet Hearts ZigZag Stitch

According to what I’ve found, apparently this stitch is another “golden oldie”, originally published in 2009 in Crochet World and used for the Sweetheart Ripple Afghan. You can get a download version of the 2018 magazine it was reprinted in for $6 here. However, I found the stitch on ILOVE-CROCHET, which has the tutorial from Esperanza and Ana Celia Rosas, but the video is in Spanish. The video…

Apparently I have entered the stage of my life where the “children” are now having children. I’m not a grandmother yet, but I know plenty of women who are. That being said, one of my sister-in-law’s girls is currently expecting her third – the gender has not been revealed – and so I thought it would be nice to make something for the newbie.

So, what to make? In trying to keep with my…