Oh My Little Ponies!

she still needs her cutie mark

I loved  My Little Pony when I was a kid, I mean who didn't right? They're so cute and the show was seriously fun.

Of course we all know that our favorite (and some new) ponies made a comeback a few years ago with my little pony friendship is magic. I couldn't even believe that they got cuter. But they did.

Of course, little miss (and little guy) are super in love with the show and the lovable characters (we have many, many pony toys to prove it).

It's Pinky Pie!

Which is why, with my recent forays into toy making  I started looking for pony patterns (among other bits of geeky awesomeness), because you know, I'm the coolest mom ever. There are some pretty cute options out there for making little ponies, which are completely adorable, I can't wait to give them a try. I'm thinking they'll be great little stocking stuffers.

Lucky for me I found the mother of all stuffed pony patterns. Go. look. It's amazing. Like wow! So impressed by this one. It's clear, detailed and simple to follow and it just comes together like nothing. 

needs more stuffing and patience

I decided to try this pattern out for myself and made a pinky pie for my little ones. She's awesome. The kids are in love with it and so am I. I must admit she's wonky because I rushed through the pattern, I was just too excited to take my time. Which I didn't. At. All. It shows in the final construction of the pony. She's all wonky but the kids love her and did I mention how freakin excited I am about this pattern?! Seriously.Go. Make a pony.  I'm going to finish her cutie mark up and start another one for little man. So exciting! Such a wonderful pattern! 

A family of slippers!

I wrote about that time of year in my last post. Fall and chilly weather mean chilly feet. Chilly feet means one of my favorite instant gratification projects: Slippers! I didn't get a chance to make some for myself and husband last year because I was too busy with other projects.

Little miss's well worn slippers from last year

I did get some made for the kids though, I made them slippers in this style last year.My daughter's still fit her and she's still very happy with them. Adjusting the length of my foundation chain according to their foot sizes as per this tutorial. It's super easy if you want to give it a shot. 

finished product. I decided to omit the strap.

A quick rule of thumb for figuring out the length of your foundation chain is to measure the length of your foot then the width of your foot and subtract the width from the length. This is how long you'll need the foundation chain to be. Then you just do 3 stitches in the "corners" (take a look at the first link for the chart- you can follow their basic design only bigger/smaller according to your needs).

black for the husband.

This year I went for something a little bit different. I made mine and my husband's with this pattern. I just didn't add the strap and contrasting color.  This pattern as is makes slippers to fit my size 9 (American women's sizes) feet as well as my husband's size 8 foot with no alterations. She does include some instructions on making them bigger/smaller in the printer friendly version.Basically, you just need to make sure it fits on your toes nicely like in her pictures. Seriously. Go look at her pictures. So. Much. Easier.

 I used the double ring method to start mine (my favorite new trick) but you can use any method of starting in the round.

I had a hard time finding and existing pattern for slippers to fit my little guy. It seems like everything is in baby sizes (this pattern is easy to make a bit bigger by adding an extra round of increases plus adding a bit of length) so I just adjusted this method to make him some. You can easily make these a bit bigger by adding an extra round of increases and then adding an extra row or 2 of length. If you need them smaller. I recommend altering the baby pattern i linked above to be a little bit bigger. Basically you want the toes to fit over the toes your making them for like a little cup.


Here's what I came up with. These fit his little 22 month foot which is 4.5  inches long by 2 inches wide.
I used a 5mm hook and worsted yarn. a small amount of contrasting color and a yarn needle

Round 1: In double ring (or magic ring OR ch4 and in third ch from hook) Work 6 dc. slst in first crochet. Chain 2
round 2: 2 dc in stitch around (12 dc)
Round 3: *2 dc in same stitch, 1dc in next stitch* Repeat around. Join in chsp. (18)

Little slippers for little man.

Round 4: Dc in each stitch around (18 dc). Join in chsp.
Round 5: Ch2 Dc in next 13. Ch2 turn.
Rows 6-11: Dc in next 13. Ch2, turn.
Row 12: Dc in next 5, Dc 3tog, Dc in next 5. fasten off leaving a long tail.
Use the tail to slst or whip stitch the back of the slipper together creating the heel.
Round 13: Attach yarn above heel and sc down side. When you reach the "corner" by the toes sc 3tog.  Dc across toes, sc 3tog at corner and sc up the other side. (If you wish fasten off here and attach a contrasting yarn)
Round 15: sc down side, sc 3 tog at toes, Dc across toes, sc 3tog at corner, Sc up side, Fasten off and weave in ends.

If you like you can add a little button or other embellishment or attach a loop made from a chain halfway down for a little strap. Sky is the limit.

Stay on Stroller blanket. FREE Crochet pattern

It's that time of year again, there is an abundance of fresh produce, the evenings are cooling off, parents are counting the hours until school is back in session. Fall is upon us!

With the mornings and evenings cooling we're digging for sweaters, socks and long pants again and I'm finding we have a lack of suitable stroller blanket. A non-issue previous couple of falls, with little dude both being small enough and preferring to travel everywhere in the carrier.

Not so much these days, at a hefty 21 months he prefers the freedom and ride of the stroller.I figured it was about time to make him a nice little stroller blanket. I have a really nice multi-hued yarn that reminds me of fall, which I've been meaning to use up and a really beautiful Scottish wool in lovely red that I've been saving for something special so I set out hoping to incorporate those into this project.

 I remembered a wonderful idea I had pinned recently for a super pretty little car seat blanket designed by string with style, which I cannot wait to make. It's just delicious! The brilliant bit about it is there is a little slit crocheted into the blanket for the bottom clip of the car seat to clip around so the blanket will stay on. So friggin smart.

I just needed something a bit bigger for little dude's stroller. So, I used the basic idea and made a different little blanket. It's super simple, just worked in a half double crochet stitch. The texture is achieved by alternating crocheting through the front loop only then back loop only across your rows.

I used a 11.5mm hook
 2 strands of worsted weight yarn worked together, I used the red and multi-hued yarn as well as some grey for the edging (I'm so terrible, I have so much random yarn in my stash I never have any idea how much I use).

Ch 54

Row 1: Skip first ch, SC in next 53

Rows 2-20: Ch 2, turn, *Hdc in FLO (front loop only) of next stitch, HDC in BLO (back loop only) of next stitch*    repeat across.

Row 21: Ch2, turn, *HDC in FLO, HDC in BLO* Repeat across for 24 stitches, you should end in the back loop, SC in next stitch CH3, skip 3, SC in next stitch,  HDC in FLO of next stitch, HDC in BLO of next stitch* repeat across last 25 stitches

Row 22: Ch 2, turn, *Hdc in FLO (front loop only) of next stitch, HDC in BLO (back loop only) of next stitch*    repeat across. Don't worry about trying to crochet in front and back loops on the ch 3. Just crochet across the chain as normal.

Row 23: Ch 2, turn, *Hdc in FLO (front loop only) of next stitch, HDC in BLO (back loop only) of next stitch*    repeat across.

Row 24:   Ch2, turn, *HDC in FLO, HDC in BLO* Repeat across for 24 stitches, you should end in the back loop, SC in next stitch CH3, skip 3, SC in next stitch,  HDC in FLO of next stitch, HDC in BLO of next stitch* repeat across last 25 stitches

Row 25: Ch 2, turn, *Hdc in FLO (front loop only) of next stitch, HDC in BLO (back loop only) of next stitch*    repeat across. Don't worry about trying to crochet in front and back loops on the ch 3. Just crochet across the chain as normal.

Row 26-43:  Ch 2, turn, *Hdc in FLO (front loop only) of next stitch, HDC in BLO (back loop only) of next stitch*    repeat across.

Row 44: Ch1 turn, SC through both loops in next stitch SC across, Fasten off.

Edging is worked in rounds along the edge of the blanket:

Round 1: Tie on contrasting yarn in any corner work CH3, DC, CH 1, (all in corner), DC in next stitch, *DC in each stitch across, work DC, CH1, DC, CH1 in corners* join with SLST in CH3 space.

Round 2: CH3, DC, CH 1, (all in corner), DC in next stitch, *DC in each stitch across, work DC, CH1, DC, CH1 in corners* (you will work your DC into the DC made in the previous round) join with SLST in CH3 space.

So, that's what I've come up with for a stroller variation of the no slip car seat blanket. I sure hope we get good use out of it.  I'll get some pictures of in in action ASAP.