Holiday Crochet Corks

It started with pinterest.  it almost always does.

One night, here I am, just scrolling through my feed, and there they are.  The most adorable crocheted Christmas trees I have ever seen.  Okay, so maybe they are the only crochet Christmas trees I have ever seen, but still.  Immediately, I add it to my "hooked" board where the other hundreds of crocheted items live that I someday plan hope to make.

Except these I actually do.  A few days ago I remember said trees and think "hey!  I've got some yarn (just a little - ha) and some leftover wine corks.  Let's make this happen!"

Little did I know that these little trees would be the inspiration for my next set of crochet patterns.  It started with a gnome (to live in the little forest of course) and then kind of snowballed out of control.  Soon my desk was covered with yarn of all colors, wine and champagne corks, and scratch paper where I was furiously scribbling notes about my next idea.  The next thing I knew the windowsill above my workstation contained a gnome, Santa, elf, snowman, and several trees.
did you notice my use of the word snowball?  and you thought I wasn't one with the puns...

So for you today, I am sharing all the patterns - for free!  I know, I know.  I love free stuff too.  And I love crochet.  And I love corks.  And I love miniature gnomes and such.  So basically I have combined some of my favorite things into one blog post and I am gifting it to you.  Because Christmas.

Simply click on the link below the photo to open up the pdf pattern - no downloading required.  Feel free to share with friends and be sure and send me a photo if you make them!

crochet cork gnome

crochet cork Santa

 

crochet cork elf

 

crochet cork snowman

bobble cork Christmas tree


happy holiday hooking y'all! 

Little Turkey Hat

While I did write the pattern for this hat myself, I didn't come up with the original idea.  A week or so ago, Erik e-mailed me a photo of this hat, sold at Target, and said he thought it looked easy enough for me to make just by looking at it.  He was correct, and when I saw the photo of it I knew Arlo would have to have one.  I figured while I was at it, I might as well write down the pattern so others could make it as well!  I am offering it as a free pattern, if you make it I would love to see a photo!   Please post one in the comments, on Ravelry where it is also available, or e-mail it to be at thebirdsandtheBs@gmail.com!  Happy Hooking!

Little Turkey Hat 

By Kendra B.

materials: 

• worsted weight yarn in dark brown, light brown, red, orange, dark blue, and cream 
• h (5mm) crochet hook & yarn needle 

abbreviations:

• ch = chain 
• sc = single crochet 
• dc = double crochet 
• sc dec = single chain decrease

a few notes to start... 
when making the hat, always start your round in the same stitch as your chain 2. this will help hide the seam.
this hat is sized to fit an average 12 month old head. it stretches a bit so it may fit as young as 6 months and as old as 18 months.
start the hat with a magic loop. if you don't know how to do a magic loop, you can go here for a nice tutorial: magic loop tutorial.

hat: 

round 1: {dark brown yarn} start with magic loop. ch 2. 9 dc into loop. join to 1st dc. (9)
round 2: ch 2. 2 dc in each dc. repeat until end. join to 1st dc. (18)
round 3: ch 2. 1 dc in the next dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (27)
round 4: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 2 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (36)
round 5: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 3 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (45)
round 6: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 4 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (54)
round 7: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 12 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (58)
round 7-14: ch 2. 1 dc in each dc. repeat until end, join, and fasten off. (58)
tip: when you fasten off - leave a long tail for sewing on the feathers!

 feathers (make 10): 

{make feathers in red, orange, blue, cream, and light brown}
chain 6. dc in3rd stitch from hook. 1 dc in next 2 dc. 7dc in last dc.
working along the underside of the chain, 1 dc in next 3 dc.
ch 1 and turn. 1 sc in next 4 dc. 2sc in each of the following 5 dc. 1 sc in next 4 dc.
fasten off and weave in ends.
 

 beak: 

round 1: {orange yarn} ch 5. starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each sc. (4)
round 2: ch 1 and turn. sc in each sc. (4)
round 3: ch 1 and turn. 2 sc dec. (2)
round 4: ch 1 and turn. sc in each sc. (2)
round 5: ch 1 and turn. 1 sc dec. fasten off leaving long tail to attach to hat. (1)

eyes (make 2): 

{light brown yarn} start with magic loop. ch 1. 7 dc into loop. join to 1st dc and fasten off, leaving tail to attach to hat.

to finish: 

using a long piece of brown yarn, sew the feathers in place around the top of the hat.
sew the eyes and nose in place.
place on top of your sweet baby's head and gobble at him/her until they start giggling.

"Little Turkey Hat" Pattern by Kendra B., ©2014 

www.littlebirdb.blogspot.com

Recently Made Things

Along with some nesting urges to get the nursery ready and decorated, I have also been feeling rather crafty as of recent, and have made several little projects in the past few weeks.  I even got out my sewing machine for the first time since we bought our new house and took on the renovation project, well over a year ago!  I forgot how much fun it is to sew baby things, and now I can't wait to make more.  Here are a few of my recent creations...

Woolly Owl Hat

I made this cute little hat from yarn I had leftover from my Half Moon Arm Warmers Pattern.  I customized the hat to fit an average 0-3 month size head, so our little guy will actually be able to wear it for the few months of cold weather we have here in the south.  You can download the pattern for free on Ravelry here, but I think you will need to set up a Ravelry account first (also no charge.)

Play Gym Re-Make

I picked up a baby play gym/activity mat at a yard sale over the summer for only $1.  It was not something I had planned on buying, but for such a low price I figured I couldn't go wrong.  I washed it and while it really was in great condition, I couldn't get past the bright colors and "babyish" look to it.  Neither Erik or I are a fan of that style.  So one afternoon last week, I decided to recover it with some flannel fabric that I had leftover from projects I made last year.  Here is a before and after:

To "re-make" the gym, I simply sewed the bottom part as a large "pillowcase" to fit the existing mat.  I then stuffed the mat into the cover, sewed it shut, and top stitched on the zoo animal pattern fabric.  It was a bit tricky running the whole thick mat through my machine, but we got through it!  I removed the fabric from the two bars that criss-cross the top of the gym, and just made new sleeves to fit those.  When I sewed those up, I added little yarn loops to hang the links/toys from.  I tried to just recover the tummy time pillow, but that ended up not working out as planned, and I ended up just making a new one of around the same size.  The only thing I wish I would have done differently is place the tabs to attach the bars in a little further towards the center of the mat.  You can see in my finished product the blue plastic links in the corners of the mat, but overall it's not a big deal.  I still love how it turned out! 

I crocheted a simple ring in coordinating colors to hang from above, and still need to figure out a few more toys that will work to hang from the links...

 Pear Blanket

I bought the fabric for this blanket a while back, not knowing what I would do with it at the time, but loving it too much to walk away.  It turns out I had just the right amount with which to make a blanket!  

 

The top is brown corduroy with aqua polka dots and small green pears, and the back of the blanket is green minky fabric that coordinates perfectly with the green pears.  I wanted to add a little something special so it wasn't just two pieces of fabric sewed together, so I decided to make a large pear on the front using a technique called reverse applique.  I used this tutorial for the reverse applique (which was really very easy) and then I used this tutorial to sew the blanket together.

After I was done I realized that the front and back didn't stay together in the middle they way I thought it would, and decided I needed to sew them together somehow.  My Mom had a great idea, to tack them together with a little bit of DMC floss.  It was the perfect solution, and I added the knots (through both layers of fabric) at the top of the pears which actually adds extra cuteness to the blanket. 

 Hanging Bathroom Shelf

Not everything I have made recently is for the baby!  I made this wooden shelf last month after seeing the tutorial on pinterest.  It turned out to be the perfect thing to hang above the toilet in our downstairs half-bath.  I love it!

I would love to tell you that I made the entire thing out of reclaimed wood and used recycled screws to fasten it together, but that would be a lie.  Truth be told, I went to Lowes and bought new materials to make it, and even had them cut the wood for me there.  As it turns out, the shelf as instructed in the tutorial would have been huge in that small space, so I did have Erik trim down each board by a few inches.  Since it was so heavy when we went to hang it up, and there was no stud conveniently located behind the spot where we put the hook, we ran 4" screws on a diagonal through the shelves and into a stud.  The holes are strategically covered up by the decor, and the hook is now purely for decoration.  Done and done.

Office Desk: from black to aqua

This isn't so much a craft as it is me just re-painting a piece of furniture, but I still thought I would share it since it is also a "recently made thing!"

When we moved into the new house I brought along this little table that I had been using as my desk at the old house.  It is just the right size, however it was painted a shiny black finish and the drawer was a bright green.  Erik painted it years ago, and I think I had requested those colors back then.  I am no longer interested in black furniture, so I decided to just re-paint it.  I took it outside and (wearing a mask) power sanded off as much of the black paint that I could, then put on a coat of light aqua satin finish paint.  I bought the premium paint from Lowes as they promised it would only take one coat, and sure enough it did!  The desk sits in the corner of my office, and while it looks a little small in this big empty space we will eventually have more furniture in here to fill it up a little better.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but the office walls are a light green, the desk is a light teal, and on the drawer is a darker teal porcelain knob.  This is where I sit and write almost all my blog posts (as I am right now) so now you can picture me writing as you read this  ;)

Hope you enjoyed my recently made things!

Half Moon Arm Warmers

Last weekend I finally finished up a crochet pattern I have been wanting to write for over a year now.  I picked a good time of the year to work on it, as the pattern is a pair of cozy arm warmers and the cooler months are just ahead.  I was inspired to write this pattern from a pair of knitted arm warmers that I picked up at a yard sale last year.  I have searched the internet for a similar pattern to make sure I wasn't creating something that was already out there, but have found nothing even close.  It took a lot longer than I though it would to get them just right, and I had to experiment with several types of yarn and different hook sizes to get them to fit and still be stretchy enough to fit hands/arms slightly larger or smaller than mine.

I give you my four failed attempts:

fail.

And now...  the end result (5th time is the charm I guess!):

(arm warmers...  and a 25 week belly shot!)

I am really happy with the end result, and love the yarn colors so much that I am currently using the leftovers to make Sprout an adorable winter hat.  The yarn I used is by Bernat, and is an 80% acrylic and 20% wool blend.  The wool adds warmth but the acrylic keeps them super soft and non-itchy.  If you are interested in buying the pattern, it can be found in my etsy store here:  Half Moon Arm Warmers Crochet Pattern.

I have the goal to write one more pattern before our little guy is born, and already have it started.  It's hard to find time these days though and between writing the pattern, physically making the item, photographing it, editing the finished pattern, converting it into .pdf format, and listing it on etsy, it ends up being quite the time consuming process.  Hopefully I will find the time in the next couple of months, because I know come January it's going to be a while before I have any time for crocheting...

First things first though...  Got to finish this cute hat for our sweet little guy!

Recently made things

After uploading what seems like a zillion pictures on to my laptop in recent days, I realized there have been quite a few crafty things that I have been making that I have forgot to share with you.  So here ya go!

Dim the lights, cue the music, and enjoy the craftiness...

First up, pillows!  The burlap pillow was inspired by some similar projects seen recently in pinterest.  Not one in particular gave me the idea for this project, however I did follow this tutorial on how to make an envelope style pillow.  The bird and "b" were stenciled using fabric paint, and well, a stencil.  Very, very easy.

The mustard yellow crochet pillow seen below was also an idea from pinterest, however I did follow a pattern for it.  Free tutorial found here.  Giant button bought at Jo-Anns.  I am so in love with how it turned out I can't wait to make another one!

I also recently crochet a couple gifts for a coworker who is expecting a baby in November.  I love how this hat turned out!  Free pattern here:  earflap hat.

 Like the little tag attached to the hat?  Oh yea, I made that too...  Inspired by this pin...  Recently I bought some rubber stamps so I can stamp the words instead of writing them out, but I haven't actually made any quite yet.  I will be attaching these to all my hand-made gifts from now on!

The back of the gift tags

This crochet crocodile was a gift for a different baby shower and I loved it so much I had to make another for myself...  Pattern was bought on etsy.

And finally, in the last few days I made a crocheted a Rabbit to coordinate with my Little Veggie Mobile.  If you are interested in making your own Roux the Rabbit, the pattern is for sale in my etsy store.

Hope you enjoyed that crafty photo bomb! You will be happy to know, it has been Bosco approved...

Little Veggie Baby Mobile

After some moderate success with selling my Bees Mobile Pattern on etsy, I decided to write another mobile crochet pattern!  It has taken me about a month to write the pattern, make the mobile, photograph it, and put it on etsy, but I finally finished.  Introducing, the little Veggies:

This pattern features four cute little veggies: Ethel the Eggplant, Carl the Carrot, Piper & Pete the Petite Peas, and Ruby the Radish, as well as Roux the Rabbit all hanging from a lovely wooden hoop.  

If you are interested, the pattern can be purchased here:  Little Veggie Mobile Pattern

As well, you can visit my etsy store and see all my items here:  the bird's & the B's etsy shop

Happy hooking!

The Bee's Mobile

After two failed attempts to write my own crochet pattern, I have finally succeeded on my third try.  My first two attempts were a crocheted monster that ended up looking more like a fat cat, and arm warmers that I just can't seem to finish...  This time, I decided to create my own baby mobile after not finding exactly what I wanted to make online.  It turned out so cute I decided to publish the pattern and sell it on etsy!  I am very excited about this, and have plans to make several more mobile patterns.  The one I just finished is a Bee Mobile, with four happy bees flying around a sweet red strawberry.  I currently have it hanging above my laptop in the living room so I can enjoy it every day  : )

If you would like to purchase this pattern to make for yourself, please visit my etsy store:

"the birds & the B's" by Kendra Kat on etsy

Direct link to "The Bee's Mobile" Pattern here:

In other exciting news, the offer we put in on that house a couple weeks ago was accepted!!  We are still in shock and so excited thinking that we could be living in that awesome house in just a few months time.  The sale is of course, is pending the home inspection which will take place this week.  If all goes well, we will be closing next month, the day after my 30th birthday!  Fingers crossed that the inspection goes well.  It is an older home so we expect them to find a few things that need repair, but hopefully the list is short and the repairs are easy...  Hopefully I will be bringing more good news in my next post!