Free Pattern Friday – Mr. Gnome

Posted on December 8, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Mr. Gnome or Santa or Wizard Crochet Pattern

Mr. Gnome Crochet by Darleen Hopkins Pattern

I plan to either offer or promote a free pattern on the first Friday of every month. (I’m a day late this month due to an internet outage yesterday-don’t get me started on Windstream!) Last month I posted the pattern for my Slouchy Football Hat. This month, I’ve decided to offer a Ravelry coupon code for a free copy of my Mr. Gnome!

Mr. Gnome is an adorable little gnome I originally designed for my oldest son. He was gnome crazy last year so I came up with this little guy as a Christmas gift. The really neat thing about this pattern is you can make him into a wizard, a Santa or anything else that has a pointy hat! I used leftover worsted cotton yarn but really any yarn will work; thinner yarn will yield a smaller gnome, thicker yarn, a larger gnome. I used an old sock stuffed with plastic beans so he’d stay level.

I’d love to see the finished gnomes! If you are on Ravelry, link yours up to the pattern. Also, I love to post completed projects on my Facebook page, Crochet by Darleen Hopkins. Get yours while you can and check out what else I have in my shop. Remember, all patterns and pattern collections/eBooks are buy 2, get 1 FREE. No coupon needed, Ravelry will automatically deduct the lowest priced pattern from your purchase. The coupon code is “GnomeGiveAway ” and it expires December 31^st 2012 at midnight, EST. Find it here Crochet by Darleen Hopkins on Ravelry.

Enjoy!

What to do with 6 pounds of yarn…Stash Busting for Hope!

Posted on November 30, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Stash Busting for Halos of Hope

Last week we were getting ready to meet my parents for Thanksgiving at the beach. I was frantically running around with last-minute packing and realized I didn’t have a project to work on in the car (6 hour drive!). I had just finished a baby blanket and had two bib patterns in testing. My only other WIPs were Christmas gifts for the boys-not something I could work on in front of them. I did a quick glance at my yarn stash and made a Thanksgiving promise-I’m going to bust this stash and make some hats for Halos of Hope.

: 6 pounds of Bernat CottonTots. 2013 Challenge, crochet into hats for Halos of Hope.

My yarn stash is stored in paper boxes (you know the ones, I think 10 reams of 500 sheets of paper per case). I won’t tell you how many boxes I have, but it’s a lot. I have one box full of just Bernat CottonTots 100% cotton yarn. I love this yarn. It’s so soft, perfect for chemo hats. So, in that frantic last-minute packing, I decided I will crochet all of the CottonTots into hats for Halos of Hope-Stash Bust 2013 (although I have a head start as I started on our trip). I weighed the yarn when we returned home and it’s over 6 pounds! While sorting through the box, I found some hearts already made. I’ll be using them on some of the hats. I’m excited about this challenge and plan to post updates at least once a month. Please check back on my progress and if you like, join in! Check this list for pre-approved yarns perfect for chemo hats and this Guidelines and Helpful Hints in making hats for those experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy or radiation.

Halos of Hope is a fantastic not-for-profit organization that distributes handcrafted hats to chemotherapy patients. They work directly with chemo centers across the country . Pam, a survivor, started the organization in 2006. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of meeting her or the other volunteers in person, but hope to in the near future. For now, I will continue to make hats and send them to Illinois. Read some to their Stories of Hope .

Do you have some yarn in your stash that’s not on their soft enough for chemo hat list? Try this stash buster pattern Made with Love, Heart Baby Blanket.

New pattern-Made with Love, Heart Baby Blanket, a STASH Buster!

Posted on November 24, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

STASH: to store in a usually secret place for future use

Use a mix of similar fiber yarn in colors that blend well together

For those who crochet, STASH equals possibilities. Will this skein be a hat or scarf to keep your son warm while he plays in the snow? Maybe a market bag for weekend shopping? How about a baby blanket for your co-worker’s newest family addition? But sometimes a crocheter’s stash becomes overwhelming. Do you have boxes or bags full of lone skeins or partial skeins? Not enough for that sweater you’d like to make or not quite the right fiber for a hat?

Beautiful use of bright colors with Caron Simply Soft.

I’d like to introduce my latest pattern, the Made with Love, Heart Baby Blanket. I designed this pattern to be a “stash buster”. I’m a collector of sale or clearance yarn. It’s hard to pass up a good sale. Eventually the skeins build up and a stash of yarn ends up taking over the closet. This blanket is designed to use only 1 or 2 skeins of each color. If you don’t have full skeins, you can substitute different colors in place of 1 color. For example, the pattern is written using 2 full skeins of Vanna’s Choice solids as the darker background color. You can substitute the 1 color with 2 or 3 or more colors of similar shades. As long as the colors work well together, you can use your stashed yarn to make a lovely blanket for someone special.

Here is a beautiful example. Jennifer had only partial skeins of 2 different darker blue yarns. So she combined the 2 and ended up with enough yarn for the darkest background color. She alternated the 2 shades where the pattern called for 1 and used up some of her leftover yarn. The result is gorgeous!

Jennifer’s stash for Patchwork Heart Baby Blanket.

Adorable! Jennifer subsituted 2 colors for 1 (background dark)

This beautiful pattern can be found on Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy. Intermediate skill required as you must be familiar with changing colors mid-row.

Thank you and Enjoy!

Darleen

Handmade Holidays-Winter Crochetvolution is a great place to start

Posted on November 10, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

If you are like me, and if you are reading this blog about crochet, it’s likely you are, you like to include handmade items in your holiday gift giving. I’m always looking for something unique to make and to give. It’s also nice to be able to gift something special that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. One great place to start looking for gift pattern ideas is Crochetvolution (it’s FREE!). This “new” eMag has been growing over the last 14 months; both in readership and in pattern offerings. The latest issue, Winter 2012 is fantastic (yes, I’m a little biased as I contributed an article and a pattern). But I’m talking about the other fantastic patterns, beside mine.

There are too many patterns to highlight them all here, so you’ll just have to take a look yourself, but here a few of my favorites and the ones I hope to incorporate in my gift making this holiday season.

Mitten Bookmarks! Adorable!!!!

I’m making 4 sets of these to give as teacher gifts. Best part, each one uses only about 5 yards of yarn!

Anastacia’s Textured Scarf is a unique twist on a warm winter scarf. The yarn she chose for this project is gorgeous and works wonderfully with the pattern.

Sarah Jane’s Cowl is gorgeous too! How can I choose which one to make??? And she has a fingerless mitt pattern to match (see above), both can be made with just one skein of yarn, fantastic!

Last, but not least, my contribution to the issue, the Snowflake Ice Scraper Mitt. The mitt part is made from a damaged wool sweater (instructions on felting here) and the snowflake can be made with just scrap yarn. Upcycle an old sweater and give a great gift!

This issue is jam-packed with fantastic gift giving ideas, from quick projects to larger ones for the very special individuals in your life. Check it out, read the articles too and sign up to be on the mailing list (it’s FREE).

Free Pattern Friday-Slouchy Football Hat, Crochet

Posted on November 2, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

Slouchy Football Hat

I’ve moved all my free patterns to one location. You can find this pattern here:

http://freecrochetpatternsbydarleen.blogspot.com/2013/08/free-pattern-slouchy-football-hat.html

Thanks for stopping by!

Last Minute Handmade Halloween Costume

Posted on October 21, 2012 by CrochetByDarleenHopkins

10 Days and Counting to my FAVORITE Holiday. I LOVE Halloween. Some of my favorite Halloween memories are of dragging the costume box down from the attic and putting together that year’s spooky creation. That box contained some old miscellaneous costume pieces and a few of mom’s old wigs and 1960’s housedresses. I had a lot fun with that box and created some pretty wacky costumes both for Halloween and for just silly play.

Now that I have my own family, we have a costume box too but with only boys, it’s full of mostly bloody swords and capes. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with bloody swords and capes. We just don’t have anything pink or fairy-like. So when I started thinking about what would work as a last-minute costume with just bloody swords and capes, I thought of this.

What I love about this is the child’s face is not covered with an obstructing and hot mask. I dislike full face masks. They smell funny, are hot and make it hard to see, especially at night. Another awesome thing is once Halloween is over, you have a great hat to wear throughout the winter season.