Crochet Mouse Hats With Ear Flaps

I love giving homemade gifts at Christmas because they really are a gift from the heart.  While we were at our vacation home this fall, I searched for a pattern for our grandkids that would reinforce our desire to have them visit us in Florida, spending at least a day at Disney World.  I found just what I was looking for on Ravelry!

I downloaded the Mr & Mrs Mouse Hat patterns designed by Elizabeth Roggasch published in The Little Bucket Bouquet.  The pattern is $5 which is quite inexpensive considering it is sized from newborn to adult.  This is a pattern that can easily be modified but I think it is cute the way it is, very much Disney-like if using those colours.

The pattern is very straight forward, easy to crochet.  There is a fair amount of finish work especially for the girl's hats but it isn't difficult just a bit time consuming.  I used RedHeart Super Saver black, petal pink, cherry red and soft white using a size 4.25 mm crochet hook.  I made one toddler size and three child size hats.  I was rather pleased with the results and the grandkids loved them!

Craft Markets or Shows

A few days ago, I went to a local craft market.  I seldom spend money at these types of events being an avid crafter myself.  I basically go to get the ideas of what to make for holiday gift giving.  Every once in awhile I will buy something, knowing full well I can easily make my own version of it myself or at the very least find out how to make it.  If you are crafty, this is definitely the time to be spending a bit of time at craft markets or shows!

Craft markets or shows are rather interesting.  The crafts tend to be textile (eg. knitter or crocheted  items), wood items, hand crafted jewelry, homemade candles and homemade baked goods.  In my experience, vendors tend to have their prices on the high side but you are getting something unique and they do have to pay for their table along with all associated costs so they really are making nothing off of what they sell.  As a crafter, I am well aware of this so have no problem supporting fellow crafters especially during the holiday season.  It spreads a bit of good cheer :)

At the same time, I know and know where to find the resources these very same crafters are selling.  It doesn't matter that I'm not a competitor, it matters that I can make the very same thing myself at a fraction of the cost for gift giving.  Not only that, many crafters are very generous with sharing their suppliers and how they do things especially if they don't view you as being the competition.

While I am a avid crafter I don't sell my crafts.  They are created for my family, friends and our enjoyment.  I honestly don't think there is much of a market in many hand crafted items, certainly not enough to pay for the materials and time.  Rather, I craft out of the love of crafting and as a way to keep my hands busy while watching television.  Knitting and crocheting tend to help me relax as well, most times unless it is a poorly written pattern. Still, craft markets can be a mecca for supporting other crafters while getting a few new ideas of crafts you would like to make for gift giving.

Simple Plain Edge Dish Cloth

Knitted dish cloths are quite easy to make, perfect for your own use or gift giving.  They range from very simple to complex patterns but most work up quite quickly.  They are an ideal take-along project when traveling do to the size.    Today's post will give the pattern for working up a simple, plain edge dish cloth, one of my favourite patterns  

The dishcloth is worked on the bias from corner to corner in simple garter stitch.  Shaping is done via a series on increases and decreases on the edge stitches.  The resulting square has a nicely finished edge on all four sides. 

Pictured is the dishcloth in progress knit in Bernat Handicrafter® Cotton.  This is a 100% cotton perfect for dishcloths.  I like to use varigated colours when making utilitarian household items just because I like the effect so you will see varigated colours in things like slippers, afghans, and dishcloths that I make.  I started at the bottom corner then shaped to the size I wanted by increasing.  At the point where I start decreasing 2 corners are formed then continuing decreasing will form the final 2 sides of the dish cloth.  The cast off will form the fourth corner. 

Note that I use a safety pin to mark the front side of my work.  In this pattern the increases and decreases are done on the front side only.  Unless I'm working on a complicated pattern I seldom watch my work as I'm knitting.  The safety pin is a textural way of knowing which side of the piece I'm on. 

Pictured is the completed dishcloth with only the ends to be sewn in and trimmed.  On the lower left is the starting point (first corner) of the dishcloth and the fourth corner is in the upper right. The shaping give just a hit of a border.

Simple Plain Edge Dish Cloth Pattern

cast on  3 stitches
*row 1 - K into front of first stitch, K into back of first stitch (one increase completed), K to last stitch, K into front of first stitch, K into back of last stitch
row 2 - K*
repeat from * to * until there are 47 stitches on the needle
**next row - K2tog, knit to last 2 stitches, K2tog
next row - K**
repeat from ** to ** until there are 3 stitches
bind off


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Gifts in a Jar

Every year folks struggle to come up with unique yet inexpensive gifts for the holiday season. This year is going to be quite difficult for many who have found themselves recently unemployed or facing the threat of unemployment. One solution to keep the cost of holiday gift giving is to give homemade gifts. Homemade gifts take a bit more thought but I think they are nicer because they are personally tailored to fit the recipient.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Homemade gifts from the kitchen are always well received. The holiday season is always quite busy so unless you start out early you may run out of time for baking. In this case turn to making gifts in a jar. I recently made Gift from the Kitchen - White Chocolate Chip Cookies that took me about 10 minutes to put together so this would be a great last minute gift as well. Essentially gifts in jars are made using all the necessary dry ingredients with the recipient adding the wet ingredients (oil, eggs, liquid) when they want to use their gift. Gifts in jars can range from cookies, brownies, breads, soups to spice blends and quick mixes. They are really easy to make. If you have scrapbooking supplies you can get some lovely tag and gift card results.

A list of material follows but they will greatly vary depending on what you are making. You can buy used mason jars but should use new jars and rings for a nice presentation. The outside of the lid can be painted as can the ring if you like or you could decorate it with embellishments or you can cover it with a square of fabric or decorative paper. Check the craft and scrapbooking sections of dollar stores for a wide variety of affordable embellishments. Each jar depending on the ingredients and including additional materials will come in at about $2 per jar or less.

Materials

recipe ingredients
1 mason jar per recipe (size varies depending on recipe)
lid and ring (decorative or plain)
ribbon or twine
embellisments (eg. brands, spoon, cloth, tags)
recipe tag (hand printed or computer generated)
cardstock in colours of your choice
craft scissors
decorative pens
pre-cut tags

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009