Thursday, June 30, 2011

June Blooms - Day 30

For our last flower this year, I am featuring an upcycled project.  In my house, we don't drink a lot of pop, or anything else that comes from pop top cans.  However, tell your kids you need some pop tabs and you will get a gazillion of them!  Here is today's project:
I just thought it looked really cool.  The designer, Renato Ambroise, suggest that you use a strong synthetic thread for this because the stitches will be rubbing on the metal and that could wear through cotton yarn.  Wanna make one, or two, or a gajillion of them?  You can find the step by step, photo tutorial by clicking here.

Would you like to see another series on Sunflowers at Home?  If so please let me know what you would be interested in by either leaving a comment or email me.

Until next time,

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

June Blooms - Day 29

This month has really flown by!  I can't believe that it is almost over!  I hope you guys and gals have been enjoying the flowers I have found and shared with you.

Speaking of flying by, before you know it we will be scrambling to finish Christmas shopping and decorating and wrapping.  So before it gets stressful, and EVERYONE is posting projects that will make us drool and wish there were more than 24 hours in a day so we could make them all, I wanted to share this one:

I love the 3-d-ness of it.  It is pretty simple to construct and can be done by the inexperienced crocheter.  Work in it WW to create table decorations, tree tuck-ins or even present decorations.  Or you can work it in thread or embroidery floss for small headband tack ons, a lapel pin, or get totally whimsical and add it to a ring blank.  You can find the pattern for the Poinsettia designed by June Gilbank by clicking here.

Until next time,

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

June Blooms - Day 28

Good morning readers.  Since it is our last day in the kitchen I thought we might try a new idea.  It is called "wiggle crochet".  Never heard of it?  Me neither!  I had to check it out.  Here is what we are going to be making:
Pretty cool huh?  Here is the same project only this one is not quite done:
So what do you think?  Basically you create a mesh canvas.  Then you start to add your curvy design by working double crochets around the mesh canvas according to the design.  Interesting concept.  This particular pattern uses size 10 cotton thread, but Ravelry members report that the hotpad size (6 inches) is really small using that size thread but is WAY to big if you use WW cotton.  It was suggested you use a size 3 mercerized cotton instead if you want to create the hotpad.  It was also reported that for this particular project you will probably want to follow the chart on the computer rather than printing it out.  When it prints it is really light and hard to read compared to the view on the computer.  Interested in trying a new technique with me.  You can get the  May Flowers Hot Pad and Coaster pattern from Coats by clicking here.

Until next time,

Monday, June 27, 2011

June Blooms - Day 27

Well readers, I tried really hard to find a totally awesome plastic bag holder pattern.  I wanted to find one that was reminiscent of this one:

Did you see it?  Not the corn, not the strawberry or even the cute apple ones in the background.  Here let me point it out to you:
Isn't that just awesome?  I love the sunflowers on it and I know just where I would hang it in my kitchen.  I even looked to see some finished projects to make sure this wasn't one of those things that look great in the book but never turn out that awesome when a real person does it.  Guess what, they looked great too.  Problem is, this isn't a free pattern so I only get to share the front cover of the booklet with you.  I am heading to Ebay and Amazon to see if I can find a copy for me!

In the meantime, I did manage to find this pattern for you

I know, not as spectacular but still pretty.  It is called the Two color bag holder.  Even the name isn't spectacular.  I would probably make mine a single color though.  You can get the PDF by clicking here.  It is one of Bernat's free patterns.

Until next time,

Sunday, June 26, 2011

June Blooms - Day 26

Today's kitchen flower is a potholder designed by Jennifer Martin.  It is her first design and if it is a predictor of things to come there are going to be some great designs in the future.  Take a look
I love her color choices.  It just looks so bright and cheery!  You can download the PDF pattern from Ravelry by clicking here.

Until next time,

Saturday, June 25, 2011

June Blooms - Day 25

Is your kitchen looking floral yet?  We have dish clothes, towel hangers, flower scrubbies, and today we have another hot pad.  You really can't have to many!


I thought these looked AMAZING and I just had to share with you. Unlike the Starburst hotpad I shared yesterday, this one is NOT made up of different motifs that are then assembled, so no chance of losing pieces (not that I have EVER lost pieces of a project before and had to remake them only to discover the missing piece weeks after I had completed the project leaving me with one piece and nothing to do with it so I ended up making a whole new project only to run out of yarn and be unable to find the correct dye lot anywhere in my area so then I had an almost completed project and had to decide to scrap the whole thing or find a yarn that was close enough in color that it wouldn't be really obvious that I had mixed dye lots.  But I am not bitter about it at all!).  Wow!  Where did that come from!

Back on track now.  Here is the link to today's Crochet Flower Hot Pad that includes an annotated picture of the folding directions to achieve the petal look. 

Until next time,

Friday, June 24, 2011

June Blooms Day 24

Did you get all your sunflowers made yesterday?  If not you may not want to read today's post because this pattern is so pretty you will want to set the sunflowers aside (which for me means I will find them months later at the bottom of my crochet basket sans pattern and they will become UFO's forever!).  This one is called the Starburst Hotpad by Loretta Shepp.
Seriously, isn't that just gorgeous?!?!  I don't know that I would ever use it for fear of messing it up or getting it dirty.  Maybe just make a bunch of them and use them to wallpaper the kitchen with!  Okay, maybe not wallpaper but a border would be nice.  Click here for a video of how to assemble the motifs if you aren't clear on the directions.  (Thanks Junbug for sharing!)  Oh, and if anyone wants to make some extras to donate to my border, the colors are sunshine yellow and forest green! 

Until next time,

Thursday, June 23, 2011

June Blooms Day 23

Hi readers.  Glad you are still with me on this flower journey.  It's sunflower day again!  Today's flower is designed by Priscilla Hewitt and is part of her Daisy or Sunflower Kitchen Set.  I only made the towel ring you see below:
(okay, I know it is an awful picture but it is a cloudy day, my kitchen is a wreck, I am sick, Princess A thinks that every word must be spoken at the top of her voice, and J thinks he is king of the house!  Needless to say, perfect pictures are not on the top of my priority list.  Shoot, they barely made it to my priority list and for those of you who looked at this post the same day it posted you know there wasn't a picture here until the next day so if you see a picture then welcome and just pretend you didn't read all of this and that it is a truly awesome picture)
 
but the pattern includes the towel ring, coaster, napkin ring, dish cloth, hot pad, pot holder and fridgie!  A whole kitchen full of sunflowers!  Yeah!

I like the towel ring because it lets me change out towels as needed.  One design and MANY towels equals a happy kitchen.  Would love to see what you guys are making.  You can post your pictures on the Sunflowers at Home Facebook page

Until next time,

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

June Blooms Day 22

Our last full week of flowers fellow Sunflowers.  It's been fun and I have to say my house is looking very colorful!  Well, Princess A looks colorful and my furniture has a few pretty granny flower pillows, and my dining room has some colorful flowers in vases.  My kitchen however looks kind of blah.  So this week it's flowers in the kitchen! 

So we begin with these
 
cute little flower scrubbers.  Work the petals with a cotton yarn and the center is one of those plastic scrubbies you can get 3 to a pack at the Dollar Tree.  The pattern was designed by Kathy Jivery and you can find the pattern here. When it gets yucky (yes, that IS a word!) just throw it in your laundry.

Or, if you are looking for something where you can replace the scrubby try this pattern by Carol J. Floyd.  She modified the above pattern to create a "pocket" for the scrubby. 

Until next time,

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

June Blooms Day 21

The last day of the 3-D flowers.  I really like how realistic this flower looks in the photo
Carnations are such a pretty flower.  It was designed by Maggie Weldon of Maggie's Crochet and is available as a free PDF download.  Some things to be aware of before I give you the link.  You do have to register with her site by giving your name, address, email, phone and create a login.  To be honest, if you only want this pattern from her site you can give all fake info (ie 555-5555 for phone, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for address...you get the idea) because once you complete check out (you do NOT need to enter any credit card info) there is a link to download the pattern.  So, if you are interested in this one, go here, add it to your cart and then proceed to the check out.

Until next time,

Monday, June 20, 2011

June Blooms - Day 20

This is it all, the last official day of Spring.  I hate to see it go as it is one of my favorite seasons, second only to Fall and it is a VERY close second.  In honor of Spring today's flower is one that for me epitomizes Spring, the daffodil.
image copyright Blue Butterfly Momma

These adorable flowers are the brain child of Kelly Decker over at Blue Butterfly MommaI love the 3D flower and that she took the time to make them very realistic.  I can see these in a vase with some of the tulips from yesterday as a centerpiece of a table.  What do you think?  You can find the pattern here

Don't forget to share your finished flowers with us on the Sunflowers At Home Facebook page.  I would really love to see what you are doing!
 
Until next time,

Sunday, June 19, 2011

June Blooms - Day 19

Today's flower is a 3D tulip.  Tulips are one of my favorite garden flowers for many reasons.  First, you only have to plant them once and they keep coming back with little to no maintenance.  As a matter of fact, left to their own devices, they multiply on their own.  Also, they are one of the early spring flowers, so after a long and cold winter when I see these flowers, usually the red ones, I know that warmer weather, longer and sunnier days are coming!  Woo Hoo!

image copyright Kati Galusz

This pattern is a Ravelry download.  It was created by Kati Galusz.  While there are several tulip patterns out there, this is the prettiest, most realistic 3D one that I could find.  You can download it here.  It downloads as a pdf. 

If you would rather not download then visit The Knitted Cupcake for an open tulip version.  Or you can visit Thistles and Tulips Facebook page to download their tulip with leaves pattern.

Until next time,

Saturday, June 18, 2011

LOVE

Just wanted to share an easy home dec. project with you.  In case you didn't know, we are teaching Princess A sign language.  When I started this all I really knew was that it was easier for a child to learn a second language when they are young and that I really like sign language (even though at the time I couldn't even fingerspell the entire alphabet!).  So I began researching a word or two at a time and teaching Princess A as well as J and H as we went.  Now I know that this is supposed to really help with language skills, spelling, communication, recall etc.  Hmm, who would have known?!?

I tell you all of that to get to this.  I was sitting at the house one day trying to think of what to hang on my wall when I thought of those picture frames that have the openings for different photos.  In my hallway I have a 10 by 13 of the family and on each side of it is a frame with two openings.  Last year I had 4 kids living in the house so that was perfect.  This year I have an open hole.  (sniff sniff)  I was trying to figure out what to do with that.  Then I thought of fingerspelling a word and patching it together into one picture.  Okay, I haven't done that yet since my new laptop doesn't have my awesome photo editing program on it because the install disk has disappeared and the new one hasn't arrived in the mail yet.  What you say?  Do it on the desktop computer that does have the program?  Have you lost your mind?!?!?  You do realize that computer is NINE years old and has been taken over by kids games and is so slow I can push the power button, take a shower, straighten my hair, put on my makeup and come back just in time to hear the Windows melody as it starts up!  I am almost serious!

Any ways, that concept lead to the creation of this:
A seriously simple project requiring only a camera, printing and a frame.  I used J and H as hand models since Princess A was sleeping.  I switched my camera to black and white mode, had them hold up their letter in front of a piece of black material (okay, black swim trunks but they are MADE of material right!?) and snapped several pictures.  Make sure your lighting is good and take all the pictures at the same time.  (Had to take pics of the "e" later because the sun decided to hide for a while and as a result it turned out lots brighter than the others.)  Also, be sure your batteries are good before you begin shooting.  Otherwise you get fuzzy photos.  Pick your favorite shot of each letter, print or have them printed and then insert into the frame.

I think I may do one that says FAMILY and just cut the little bars between each photo in the mat out so I can fit them in the frame.  Too cheap  frugal to pay for custom framing.  Hope you enjoy the project, now get back to flower making!

Until next time,

June Blooms Day 18

Hello faithful readers and welcome newbies.  Are your homes filling up with flowers yet?  I think my to do list keeps getting longer and longer since I have been hooking items for my Etsy shop in an attempt to get it stocked.  As a result I don't get to crochet as many pleasure items as I may like.  With Princess A attempting to lay claim to everything I make (currently an 8 inch doll that she already has one of!) I have to crochet quick and box up finished projects even quicker before they get claimed!  So since I haven't been able to crochet as many flowers this last week as I would like, I would love to see yours on my Sunflowers at Home Facebook page

Today's pattern is two fold and is from Better Homes and Gardens.  It is called the Always Blooming Bouquet.
My favorite of the two is what they call the rose but it looks more like a poppy to me.  I think it is supposed to be an old world rose.  Whatever it is, I think it is pretty and I hope you do too!

Until next time,

Friday, June 17, 2011

June Blooms Day 17

Good morning all!  Today's flower is a water flower.  A lotus flower to be exact.  I have always loved photos of these delicate looking flowers floating among the water lilies.





copyright Daniela Herbetz

That last one is our flower today.  Isn't it beautiful?  I think this would be a beautiful table centerpiece.  The pattern is available as a free Ravelry PDF download here


Until next time,

Thursday, June 16, 2011

June Blooms Day 16

Today is another sunflower.  I admit though, this really isn't my favorite style.  Reminds me of the Americana type of thing which is great, but I prefer my sunflowers to be bright and cheery and this example isn't so much.  Still, a few color changes and it definitely has potential, besides, I do really like the yarn and even used it for my Croco Flower.
The pattern can be found here which is also the website for the Naturally Caron yarn used.  It was designed by Liz Walsh.  Would love to see your finished flower, especially if you do it in a cheerier color!  You can share your pics on the Sunflowers at Home Facebook page

Until next time,

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

June Blooms Day 15

Another week means another design style.  This week I am focusing on flowers that are more 3D, the kind you can make and put in a vase or use to decorate a wreath with.  While many are going to be more "realistic" some (like today's) will be stylized.  Hope you enjoy them. 

Today's flower is the Fiore Rosso by Silvana Catallo and can be found on her blog Lana e Cotone
The blog is in Italian, which I can't read, but the pattern is charted.  From what I can tell, magglia bassa is a single crochet,  catenella is a chain, punto alto is a triple crochet and mezzo punto alto is a double crochet.  Just click the chart image on her blog to pull up the full size chart. 

Until next time,

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

June Blooms Day 14

For our last day of Granny Flowers I decided to share a hexagonal flower that seems to be taking over the web.

 It's called the African Flower and done in the right color combinations it is beautiful.  This pattern is all about the colors, so be sure to choose wisely.  I decided to feature Heidi Bears from the Heidi Bears blog for this pattern because of her wonderful step by step photo tutorial.  You can find her pattern by clicking here

And here are a few things you can do with all of the granny squares you have created just in case you don't want to make a blanket:



Until next time,

Monday, June 13, 2011

June Blooms Day 13

Today's granny is called the Flowers in the Snow and was designed by Solveig  I just love the way the motifs join up to create a pretty lacy area between each square.  Reminds me of quilting.  The image below is from Jane over at Hook and Yarn.  I loved her color choices, really beautiful!
Only 1 more day of Flower Grannies and then on to a new type of crochet flower design.  Tomorrow I am also featuring several finished granny projects to inspire you to think outside the box with your grannies!

Until next time,

Sunday, June 12, 2011

June Blooms Day 12

Today I have two patterns to offer you.  One is for a daisy motif but there are strings attached to the pattern.  Usually I wouldn't consider sharing a pattern that you had to give something to get something but I really think this gal is on to something.  Krochet Krystal designed this particular motif you can see below:
but she is doing something wonderful with it.  Visit her blog, click on the link for the pattern and join the yahoo group to download it.  All she asks in return is that you mail her one completed block.  She then assembles donated blocks into afghans and donates them to charitable organizations such as the Children's Hospital in NY, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and senior assistance centers.  Personally, I think it well worth my time just to make a block and donate it, especially when someone else is doing all of the joining!  The bonus is the cute pattern.  If you decide to do this, please let her know that Sunflowers at Home sent you.

But if that isn't your thing, then you can use this pattern instead which is totally free of charge.
It is called the Delightful Daisy and was designed by Melanie Stiles.  The site is no longer available but thanks to the work of Internet archivers you can find it here. 

Until next time,