Kids Drawing on a Cushion

About 2 months ago a facebook friend (old high school friend) changed his profile picture to a drawing of himself, done by his young daughter. I loved the drawing. Having young kids, I also love the evolution in kid drawings - a person is just a big head to start with. Thought it was awesome. So I had to do this...

 

I've stitched the picture, just with ordinary sewing thread onto some fabric and made that a cushion cover. A nice big cushion cover - 20" x 20" (50cm x 50cm). Maybe I should have ironed it a little better before taking a photo... I'm not a fan of the iron though, so this will do!

Hope my friend and his family love it too!

More Crocheted Pot Holders

I've been a bit flu-y, so while resting on the lounge I've crocheted a few more pot holders:

1.2.

3.4.

5.

1. This is just single crochet, but using 3 strands (blue, green, grey). Really liked how this looked (http://chucksforchancho.com/2012/09/01/chunky-crochet-baby-blanket-tutorial/), so basically got the idea from her.
2. Just crocheted some strips. Each strip was 2 rows of Trebles/Double (depending where you're from). Then crochet a scallop edge the join them all together.
3. I thought this stitch was called 'jumping stripes', but now I can't find it!
4. This stitch (http://www.examiner.com/article/done-a-jiffy-baby-blanket-to-crochet) I really loved the subtle pattern. Just as easy, and probably just a little quicker that #1 above. Again used three strands and a larger hook.
5. The crochet lattice stitch I found here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4623513_crochet-honeycomb-lattice-stitch-pattern.html

Pot holders are a great way of testing a pattern. It doesn't take long to work up, you get to see enough of the pattern to know if you like it for a bigger project. And if your test piece it a bit too thin, you can always do a second (try another stitch of course) and stitch them together for a nice thick pot holder or pot stand.

Crochet pot holder pattern review

I have been trying out some crochet pot holder and/or pot stand patterns (as well as making up my own of course!

1. 2.

 

3. 4.

5.

The patterns I used are as follows:

1.  http://olavas.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/oppskrift-pa-fargesterk-grytelapp.html This pattern in is German (I think). You could use a translator - look in the comments, there are a few links to translators there. But I found the photos were enough for me. This pattern sat pretty flat, but I did press it to make it look better. This is only a single layer (as opposed to #3 below) but you could easily double it up if you wanted to.
2. http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/blooming-flower-cushion.html I know this says it's a cushion, but if you only do to the size you want, why not make it a pot holder? The pattern is very easy to follow, she has great photos, and because you crochet each round of petals as you go, you can make it as big or small as you want. Furthermore, the pattern works really well (for me anyway). The circle sat beautifully flat.
3. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flower-potholders I think there are quite a few of these type of pot holder patterns around. I'm pretty sure this is the one I used for this. (NB. you need to be a member of ravelry to see this, but it's free, and there are heaps of free patterns too.) This didn't see too flat - I think I will try it again, but with a bigger hook, that might fix the problem. This is doubled, so it is nice and thick. It was a little tricky doing the finishing of the petals down the center, but the gap to do this in is quite small (the gap for #1 is much bigger, and therefore easier).
4. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnitterlyThings/the-wool-eater-blanket Another one from ravelry. But you can also get it from the creators website here: http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/wool-eater-instructions/ Great instructions and photos. She shows you the first 2 rows, you can add as many as you want! Sarah suggests it may be more decorative than functional because of it isn't really thick. But I made this one first, and have been using it for a day or two and it's not too bad. I might make another one using two or 3 strands, and a bigger hook - that might thicken it up.
5. This is just based on my rainbow beanie. I had my basket with all my yarns in there ready to go, so I gave it a go. Love how it turned out. The 'puffs' add a good thickness. Anyone what me to try and write out the pattern?

So thanks for having a look, and thanks to those people took the time to take the photos, and write the instructions, and publish on their blogs!

I'm sure there will be more of these to come! I hope to cover a section of wall in the ICAN@7 gallery with pot holders soon.

One Pot Mince & Pasta Bake

This is how easy it is to cook with Chef's Toolbox equipment. Here is a mince and pasta bake that I did the other night, step by step:

Prepare the Vegies you and and Chop (for disguising purposes, I chopped mine finely):

Brown the mince:

 Then add the vegies and cook for a bit:

Next add some tomatoes and any other flavouring you like, let this cook (simmer) for maybe 20mins:

 Add some cooked pasta, and stir it in:

 Sprinkle with cheese, and put straight in the oven:

 And here's your wonderful meal!

Best thing is that you have only used one pot for the pasta, and the saute pan. Clean up is a cinch with the non-stick surface (guaranteed for 10yrs too!). Usually for this type of meal you would be using the pot for the pasta, a frying pan for the mince and sauce, and a casserole dish that takes forever to clean because the cheese has stuck to the side!

DIY Studded Bag

So here's my 'before' bag:

It's just a $25 bag from Trade Secret. Liked the colour. Kind of liked the little bit of stud work on the end, but I wanted more. So I added my own! Here's the 'after':

These studs were easy to add. They are the 'prong' type studs. On the back they have 4 prongs. You poke the prongs into the fabric and bend the prongs over. It's easy enough to do with just your fingers. (Although my fingers were a little sore the next morning after all of these!) And if your careful enough, you can bend the prongs in without catching the lining, so it looks like it was made like this! (The studs were under $10 I think, for a box of 100 - from ebay.)

Rainbow Beanie & Cooler

Well I know I haven't been around much lately, but I have some time for a bit of a catch up, so here we go!

Firstly, I've started crocheting some coolers, which are in the ICAN@7 Gallery. Lovely Courtney from the Red Kitchen made a request - she wanted a rainbow cooler, with a matching beanie. So this is what I came up with:

Don't you just LOVE the texture of the beanie and the cooler?!

I've done a puff stitch, and spiraled the 6 colours around (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple). The puff stitch I used is: 4xTR in stitch, remove loop from hook, insert hook at beginning of 1st st, pick loop back up and pull through. I started both with a magic ring, with 2 TR of each colour (ie 12TR in the magic ring). By the way, the coolers are made for the 'girly' drinks, like Cruizers, which are smaller than a standard can.

Oh, and here's a 'in progress' shot of the cooler:

Notice that I am working with all colours at once? Center pull yarns are great for this - stand all your yarns together in a basket, so all the "center pulls" are free to come out the top.