Okaasan Hug Monster

My husband bought me a book of crocheted monsters, Crochet Bakemono, last year.  I just got around to making one of them, Okaasan, for Valentine’s Day.  Okaasan just begs for a hug.

I had a few issues with the pattern.  At first it wasn’t making sense at all, then I realized it was written in British terms rather than American.  It’s confusing because we use the same terms, but they mean different things.  There was very little instruction on how to cut out and apply the felt pieces.

Difficulty:  Easy

Time Required:  3 Movies

Overall Experience:  Fair

 

 

 

Heart Cable Koozie

Knit koozies have become quite popular in Houston in the last few months.  After seeing some quite boring koozies at various local hotspots, I decided I should come up with some jazzier varieties.  Since then I’ve made koozies with cables, lace, camo, school logos, and super hero logos.  I’ve already posted the pattern for my most popular koozie, Batman.  The koozie that was most fun to knit had an interlocking heart cable.  I included the pattern below.

The pattern is slightly different from the koozie shown in the picture above.  I redid the “pointy” part of the heart cable so that it was more symmetric.  I haven’t made a complete koozie with the adjusted pointy part, but you can see what it will look like in the picture below.  (This is what your koozie should look like at Row 15.)

Difficulty:  Moderate

The heart cable is challenging.

Time Required:  2 Movies

Overall Experience:  Excellent

This is a quick project.  I carry one around in my purse to put on my glass when I go places.  I think someone has asked me about it every time I’ve used it.

Disclaimer:  Feel free to make this pattern for your personal use, for your platypus, for charity, or to sell.  The only thing I ask is that you please do not sell it on Etsy.  If you are interested in purchasing a koozie from my Etsy store, you may do so here.

Materials:

• A small amount of worsted weight yarn in your color of choice
• 4 US size 8 double pointed needles (DPN)
• An appropriately sized cable needle (CN)

Directions:

All of the stitches are basic except for I2 (see below).  I tried to add links to anything besides a basic knit or purl.

I2 Stitch:  Increase 2 stitches by working (Knit 1 Through Back Loop (K1 tbl), Knit (K) 1) insert left needle behind the vertical strand running downwards between the 2 stitches just worked and work this strand K1 tbl.  Please leave me a comment if you need more details on this stitch.

Cast on 6 stitches using a cable cast on.  Distribute  the stitches evenly on three DPN

R1:  Purl (P) 6 (6 stitches)

R2:  Purl Front and Back (PFB) 6 times (12)

R3:  P12 (12)

R4:  *P1, PFB1, Repeat from * 6 times (18)

R5:  P18 (18)

R6:  *P2, PFB1, Repeat from * 6 times (24)

R7:  P24

R8:  *P2, PFB1, Repeat from * 8 times (32)

R9:  P32

R10:  *P3, PFB1, Repeat from * 3 times, P1, PFB1, P1, PFB1, *P3, PFB1, Repeat from * 3 times, P1, PFB1, P1, PFB1 (42)

R11:  *P1, K2, P7, K1, P7, K2, P1, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R12:  *P1, K2, P5, Purl 2 Together (P2tog), I2, P2 tog through back loops (P2tog tbl), P5, K2, P1, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R13:  *P1, K2, P6, K3, P6, K2, P1, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R14:  *P1, Slip (Sl) 2 stitches to CN and hold in front, P1 from left hand needle (LHN), K2 from CN, P3, P2tog, K1, I2, K1, P2tog tbl, P3, Sl 1 stitch to CN and hold in back, K2 from LHN, P1 from CN, P1, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R15:  *P2, K2, P4, K2, P1, K2, P4, K2, P2, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R16:  *P2, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in front, P2 from LHN, K2 from CN, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in back, K2 from LHN, P2 from CN, P1, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in front, P2 from LHN, K2 from CN, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in back, K2 from LHN, P2 from CN, P2, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R17:  *P4, K4, P5, K4, P4, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R18:  *P4, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in back, K2 from LHN, P2 from CN, P5, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in front, P2 from LHN, K2 from CN, P4, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R19:  *P4, K2, P9, K2, P4, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R20:  *P2, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in back, K2 from LHN, P2 from CN, P9, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in front, P2 from LHN, K2 from CN, P2, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R21:  *P2, K2, P13, K2, P2, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R22:  *P1, Sl 1 stitch to CN and hold in back, K2 from LHN, P1 from CN, P13, Sl 2 stitches to CN and hold in front, P1 from LHN, K2 from CN, P1, Repeat from * 1 time (42)

R23-46:  Repeat R11-R22 twice

Bind Off and Work in Ends

Related articles

• Batman Koozie (engineeredcreations.wordpress.com)

State Plaque

Last year, I found a cute idea on Pinterest.  Someone had created this adorable plaque.  Unfortunately, the link attached to the pin didn’t lead to directions.  I decided to make similar plaques for my parents and my boyfriend’s parents for Christmas.  I detailed my improvised process below.  Sorry for the lack of pictures!

Materials (and where I bought them):

• A Plaque ( Hobby Lobby)
• A Box of Small Nails (Home Depot)
• A Small Finishing Hammer (Home Depot)
• Ball of Cotton Crochet Thread (Hobby Lobby)
• Masking Tape
• Scissors
• Access to a Computer/Printer

Instructions:

1. Purchase your plaque so you are certain of the size.
2. Print out a state map and a small heart using your computer and printer.  Make sure the sizes are appropriate for your plaque.  I copied my state map into PowerPoint so that I could scale it to fit my plaque well. Also in PowerPoint, I superimposed the heart on the map over the cities where my parents and my then boyfriend’s (now fiance’s!) parents live.
3. Cut out the map and the heart using scissors.
4. Create small rolls of masking tape and put the tape on the back of the map.
5. Place the map on the plaque in the orientation desired.
6. Line the paper map and heart with nails.  I would suggest using a spacer so the nails are evenly spaced.  I used a crochet hook.  A pen would be an appropriate size.
7. After the paper map and heart are completely lined with nails, carefully remove the map.
8. Tie the end of the thread to one of the heart nails.  Maintaining tension in the thread, wrap the thread around the nails alternating between heart nails and map nails.  Wrap thread around each map nail once and each heart nail several times.  When all of the nails are wrapped, tie the string to the final nail and cut the string close to the nail.

I was very pleased with the final product and both of our parents loved their gifts!

Difficulty:  Easy

Time Requited:  2 Movies

Overall Experience:  Excellent

About a month ago, I got an email from Uncommon Goods.  They are selling almost the exact same plaques for $85!  I wish that I had thought to paint the tips of the nails red for the heart.  That was a really cute idea!