Saturday, March 31, 2012

~Soon to be Free~ (Coming Soon)

Like free patterns?
Meeeee too.
:)

The below fingerless gloves are Soon to be FREE patterns!
I just have to get around to typing it up 
and posting it here.












Check back here to see when that may happen, 
~OR~
"Like" me on Facebook....
to receive that update, as well as lots of other great sneak peeks, good finds, and random musings.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Owl Make a Motif (Free!)

(This page has been getting quite a bit of action the past couple of months- welcome to all those who found Purple Chair Crochet via Pinterest! Feel free to snoop around- my *free* patterns are linked on the right side of the page, and if you're interested in something a bit more challenging, check out Purple Chair Crochet on Etsy, where I offer crochet patterns emailed to you in PDF form. :) Ok, now back to the Owls!!)


Hmm, what to make.
Oh.
"Owl Make a Motif"!
;)


These little guys were inspired by Pinterest,
but came from my own brain... 
uh, at the same time.


They're small (as you see below, being modeled by my son, Booger aka Jet aka The Professor).


They're fast (begging for a friend, or two... or three).

Like the basket? That's their new nest. The pattern is available with my other free patterns- check the links to the RIGHT. You may have to scroll upwards a bit. A little bit more. Right there, see it? 

They're colorful (weeeeee, color!)


And I bet you want to know...


How did I make these?

The Professor requested this owl have green eyes.

Well, I'll tell you.

First, gather your things...
3 colors of worsted weight cotton yarn. 
white cotton yarn (eyes)
color for beak (red, yellow or orange)
safety eyes or extra bits of dark colored yarn
yarn needle
scissors
4mm crochet hook.

Got all that? Great!

For the body...
RND 1: Ch4, join with sl st to first ch create a loop. ch2 (counts as first dc), 15 dc in ring around. Join with sl st to first dc. fasten off (16 dc)
RND 2: Join new color, ch2, dc in same space. In each stitch around work *2dctog, ch1 *. Join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off (16 2dctog)
RND 3: Join new color, ch2 (counts as first dc), 2dc in ch sp of previous rnd. In next ch sp work *3dc, ch 2, 3dc *. Work 3dc in each sp around the next 13 ch spaces. In next ch space work *3dc, ch 2, 3dc *.  3dc in next ch sp, then join with slip stitch to first dc. Fasten off. (see your owl? he's almost here!)

For the eyes... (create 2)
RND 1: Ch2 (or magic circle) leaving a long "tail" off of your slip knot. In first ch work 12 dc stitches. Join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off. Pull center tail firmly to close the circle. 

Finally....
With your beak color, create a beak using the center of your motif as your starting place. Next, sew eyes into place as desired (refer to pictures if needed) and affix safety eyes or embroider eyelids.

And that's all there is to it! :):) Make a million!


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Fat Bottom Bag (WIP)

There I sat, doing my Pinterest thing.
Click, pin.
Click, pin.
Click, laugh, pin.

When I scrolled across this:

Image courtesy of winkieflash
This is the Fat Bottom Bag. It's beyond beautiful! So incredibly simple! Immediately smitten, I followed the source of the picture to a Ravelry page. (If you're a knitter or a crocheter it's essential for you to create a username and password for this gLORious website.) And -woohoo- as luck would have it the pattern was available for free.

So if you feel like a quick project that's beautiful, handy, fast and fun....

also known as 29-210-44 Striped Bag
(but that's not a very catchy name)

I'm using left over yarn from the Berry Smoothie Berry Beautiful Star Blankie I just made for my cousins soon-to-arrive daughter. I'm super excited! And I have to get back to crocheting. I'm 10 rounds in, 20 to go and then the shaping begins!

My work in progress as shown by my crummy camera phone! 

***



Thursday, March 22, 2012

Berry Beautiful Blankie (Finished!)

The Berry Smoothie Star Blankie is 

CoMPLeTeD!
***








These star blankets are a treat to create! They work up quick as can be and give the same vibes as a granny square blanket, but they're punchy, unexpected, and unique.

And I love 'em. =)

I've already made one for my 3-year-old son (in honor of his 3-year birthday), and this one is a special gift for a special little girl. (It's a surprise though, so I'd appreciate if you didn't mention it to her, or her parents for that matter. Thanks.)

If this blankie has you twiddling your crochet hook, check out the pattern here >> The Hook Hound: Granny Star Pattern. You won't be sorry!

And if you don't crochet (shame, really), you can always contact me for details on a custom order blanket. I don't mind, promise!

Have a LoveLy day!
***

Monday, March 19, 2012

Berry Smoothie Star Blankie (WIP)

Hurray! I have a WIP going on this week!
Presenting, 
for your viewing pleasure:
 The Berry Smoothie Star Blankie!








I took these last week while I was waiting for *more yarn* to come in from Lion Brand. But I'll give you all the details when I'm d-o-n-e. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek!!

***
*Like Purple Chair Crochet on Facebook!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Give Me Color! (Inspiration)

Lately, I've been pooping out on my crochet projects.
I start in a frenzy of optimism.
Then I get bored.
Set them down.
And haven't had the drive to pick them back up.


I was pondering this lately, 
trying to figure out what the common theme was in each of these projects.


They're
all
one
color.


I think part of the drive to 
FINISH!
something is changing the colors.


Some of the projects I haven't finished are:
The Bed of Roses blanket (2 colors- gorgeous, oh my, yes, but pretty monotonous)
2 Purses - both a solid color. One is navy blue, the other a pretty peacock purple.

Gorgeous yarn all around, 
but alas,
no color changes.  


I've decided, therefore, it either needs to be
COLORFUL
or
fast!!


And I'd prefer both, since I'm on the subject. ;) 


A stack of squares- colorful and fast.


A flowery chandelier- colorful and fast.

This beauty needs some better pictures to show off it's bright side.
That'll be in the works, methinks. :)
A scrappy granny throw
colorful
and
fast.
=)

***
Whew, glad I got all that out. 
No more boring, tedious, unending crochet projects for me.
Give me c o l o r with my Crochet 

Hope you have 
a
Lovely Day!

Friday, March 9, 2012

In Celebration of Spring!! (Free!)

I thought I'd include a 
~FREE PATTERN~
today in Celebration of Spring!!


I love motif's, and these are begging to be made and displayed!



Add a button (how to choose?) and a pin onto the back for a pretty little (or not so little, as is the case here) brooch!





Or skip it entirely and display them in your home...




:)
After taking these pictures I got all "WooHOO it's SPRING!" (yesterday was a glorious 73*!) and started snapping pictures of my indoor plant life. It may be spring, but aside from daffodils and the occasional flowering tree, there's a lot of bare and brown out there.


Rooting a Purple-Waffle cutting. Isn't life miraculous?


My new jade plant- wish me luck!


Hello, seedlings. Welcome to the world. :) Future peppers for my plate!


*True* leaves on my kale plants!


Yeah, spring. :):)



 Oh, were you here for the crochet? Sorry, I got side tracked.

Here's the Fabulously Fantastic and FREE pattern for the Frilly Flower MotiF!  =D




Note-- 
DcCL = Double Crochet Cluster. YO, insert hook into sp, draw up loop (3 loops on hook), yo & pull through 2 loops. YO, insert hook into same sp, draw up loop (4 loops on hook). YO, pull through 2 loops, yo pull through remaining 3 loops.

Frilly Flower Motif

Rnd 1- ch 4, join with sl st to 1st ch. Ch 3 (counts as dc, ch 1) and *dc, ch 1 * 15 times around (16 dc, ch 1). Join with sl st to 2nd ch of initial ch 3.
Rnd 2 - Sl st into ch 1. ch2, dc in same sp (counts as first DcCL). Ch1, in next sp work *DcCL, ch1 * around. End with sl st into 1st dc.
Round 3 – Sl st into ch 1 sp. *ch4, sl st into ch 1 sp * around. End with sl st into 1st sl st of round.
Round 4 - Sl st into ch4 sp. *Ch 5, sl st into ch 4 of prev round * repeat around. Sl st to 1st sl st of round.
Round 5 - * into ch5 loop work: sc, hdc, dc, ch1, dc, hdc, sc. sl st into sc of prev round * around, join with sl st to first sc.  

Fasten off. Weave in ends. Make it into *anything* you can think of!! 

***
Have a lovely day!